Taken By Surprise
by JustBTrue2WhoUR
Summary: When Sherlock receives a text from John, he's at a loss at what to do. But of course he helps the man that disappeared from his life 12 years ago. But just as Sherlock managed to push aside his emotions, he discovers the reason John left. Will they manage to get over the past or do they need a certain young girl to push them along onto the right path? Omegaverse
1. Chapter 1

_**Hello everyone,**_

_**This started off as a roleplay prompt on Omegle and after writing 5 chapters, we decided to upload it :)**_

_**We hope you all enjoy it :)**_

(Tues 20:43)

Sherlock, I need your help. –JW

(Tues 20:43)

Who is this? –SH

(Tues 20:44)

John. -JW

(Tues 20:47)

John, as in John Watson.–SH

(Tues 20:47)

Yes. Please, I know it's late but I need your help. –JW

(Tues 20:55)

What's wrong? –SH

(Tues 20:55)

My daughter is missing. –JW

(Tues 20:56)

Please. I can't find her. She'd usually be back by half three and it's nearly nine... I'm freaking out. –JW

(Tues 21:05)

So, you need my help? –SH

(Tues 21:05)

Yes. I need your help, Sherlock. –JW

(Tues 21:06)

We need to talk further. Where can we meet? -SH

(Tues 21:06)

My house, please. In case she comes back. Harry is out looking right now. Lestrade's helping too... –JW

(Tues 21:07)  
[Address] Here. –JW

(Tues 21:10)

Okay. I will be there in 20 minutes –SH

(Tues 21:11)

Thank you. –JW

(Tues 21:25)

Please hurry. –JW

(Tues 21:34)

Outside -SH

John took a breath, extremely nervous about seeing Sherlock after such a long time. Not only was Sherlock the only person he had truly loved but he couldn't get the tall, handsome Alpha out of his mind. He clearly remembered the last time he had seen him and it made his head spin.

He was spread out on the sofa, limbs everywhere, like an octopus capturing its prey wearing his dressing gown over a freshly pressed white shirt and super slim fit pair of trousers. He hung his head over the arm of the sofa, his unique eyes latching onto John just as he entered the living room.

John's heart beat faster as he caught Sherlock staring at him as he went by his daily routine. He could see that Sherlock really wanted to scent him, make sure that no one could touch because they were not bonded but John wouldn't let him like every other day that he went to work. Not only because he felt uncomfortable letting Sherlock rub his scent onto him but also because he knew he would break down, knowing that it would be the last time that Sherlock would ever touch him.

So John quickly said his goodbyes to Sherlock before going to work, trying to force the sharp, bitter feeling back as he went to work and acted like everything was normal. His inner Omega screamed at him, telling him that he was making a mistake but he knew he wasn't. He just had to ignore the voice because that his inner Omega thought was the least of his concerns...

But it wasn't the last time. Sherlock was right there, in front of his house, waiting for him to open the door and let him in. Despite the history between the pair and the panic that overwhelmed him at the thought of seeing Sherlock again, John's concern for his daughter overtook every possible thought that went through his head.

He pulled the door open and gave a quick smile before pulling Sherlock in, ignoring every feeling that hit him as he saw the detective again. "Right! She has two mains friends but she doesn't really go out a whole lot. I've asked her friends, no sign. There's a park she likes but she isn't there..."

Sherlock stood at the door, overwhelmed by all the information that was being fired at him as he was pulled into the house. He took a moment to compose himself, looking at the man who had once been such an important part of his life before processing the information that said man had thrown at him. "What's her name?"

"Alexandra Louise Watson."

"How old is she?"

"12"

"What school does she go to?"

"St Richmond's."

"Does she have any enemies?"

"She has an issue with a girl named Mina but other than that, no. No enemies. Just girls... being bitchy." He laughed nervously while standing still in the middle of the hall, twiddling his thumbs in an attempt to calm himself down. He had no idea what to do. His baby girl had been missing for nearly five hours. Where could she possibly be at this time of night...

Sherlock didn't really know what to think of the circumstances. This girl... John's daughter was lost and John, his ex needed his help. But how could John just disappear from his life and then get in contact with him years later as if he had never been away? It wasn't even as if they had been fighting when John left. They had been happy, really happy, just about to bond but then he wasn't there and even to that day Sherlock didn't know why.

However he realised that he needed to stop thinking about the past. He had a case, an important case and he couldn't let what happened with John all those years ago get in the way of it. John still meant everything to him and if finding his daughter was the only thing he could do to help, then he would find her. All he had to do was treat this case like he would any other one so he could find her and stop John from worrying.

_The Girl._ He couldn't think of her as John's child, simply _The Girl_. It would make it easier for him to concentrate on finding her.

John was jumpy and nervous, hoping that Harry, who was out looking, would text or call to say that she had found his little girl. That would be the best outcome. John couldn't stop coming up with new ideas as to what had happened to her. Anything could have happened. He had a lot of enemies after all of his days chasing criminals with Sherlock and it could be possible, that one of them had kidnapped his precious daughter as revenge for catching them. All he knew was if someone had touched a single curly hair on her head, he would find them and the police wouldn't be able to recognise the body after he was finished with it. But he knew, deep down inside, that Sherlock would find her in perfect condition. If Sherlock meant what he said when he told John that he would do anything to keep him happy, he would bring his daughter back to him in perfect condition.

Sherlock always solved every case (well... most of them)...

John had managed to follow Sherlock's work via Lestrade and the media. Of course he was still doing as well as he was when John was around, possibly even better which was... good. The last thing John wanted was for Sherlock to be unhappy and, if the cases weren't coming in, he knew that the detective would not be happy , at all.

The fact that Sherlock was still doing well without him wasn't unexpected. Sherlock's mind was... well... out of this world and he missed being the one who praised his deductive skills with as many adjectives as possible but he knew that he did not have the right to miss his old life. He was the one who walked away, knowing exactly what he was leaving behind and still did it. Only because he didn't want Sherlock to hate him. He would prefer to never see Sherlock again knowing that Sherlock loved him than tell him the truth and be kicked out knowing that Sherlock hated him.

"Okay." Sherlock said, flicking his eyes around, taking in every detail of the room that he was standing in. The building that John now lived in was defiantly a home... his home. It was more of a home than 221B had ever been to him over the years that they were friends and the year that they were together.

Pictures were everywhere, hung up on the walls, sitting on most of the surfaces. Most of them were of a girl who looked like John and gradually, in each photo, she grew older. This house was John's home. His ex's home. "I will need a recent photo of her so that I can get my homeless network on board. They will be able to find out information about her disappearance quicker than Lestrade's team. "

John nodded, going into the living room and over to the fireplace where his daughter's most recent school photo sat. She was smiling bright, book settled in her lap, and her curls were framing her face. Dark, long ringlets. Beautiful. John handed over the picture with a small sigh. He was worried, his protective omega nature kicking in when he knew that his child was in dangeA. as long as his daughter wasn't upstairs, tucked into her warm bed, he would be worried because that's where she belonged. Always.

Sherlock took the photo that John held out to him and stared at it for a moment. The first thing that caught his attention was that this child, who looked about 15 years old but was really 12, looked like a clone of John in female form. It was quite shocking for Sherlock to see the features that he loved on John, in a child. Although it was not just any child, it was John's and that was what upset him. John had gone and gotten pregnant with a child, without him...

Once upon a time Sherlock was John's alpha, destined to be together until they were old and unable to solve cases anymore. Maybe he should have made John bond with him sooner, that way John couldn't have run away from him, the bond making it impossible for John to leave him... but Sherlock would never do that. He couldn't force John to stay if he didn't want to. John was his own person. A doctor. A soldier. A father...

But stopped himself from thinking about it any further. He could let his emotions rule over him when he had more important things that had to be done. He quickly put up his emotion barrier and continued to examine the photo.

John swallowed and moved closer, pointing to her chin. "She has a scar on her chin now... She got into a fight. It's not all that noticeable but it might help. She disagreed with a girl about something and she has a slight anger issue so... She punched her and parents got called. Anyway... she has a scar."

"Yes, that might help me quite a bit, actually. The girl that punched her, was she the same girl you mentioned before?"

John nodded. "The exact same. They really don't get on... I've tried but the parents are also... disagreeable. Made me want to hit the guy once or twice..."

"Hmmm." Sherlock hummed, thinking through a few ideas that came through his head. He had quite a few theories running through his head but he had to try and sort all the information into a better order if he wanted to find The Girl. He also had some questions that he really wanted to ask, a few more important and more relevant to the case than others but it seemed that he couldn't stop focusing on the unimportant ones.

Sherlock laughed at his inner self. How could he be so self absorbed when John, his John, was going out of his mind with worry because his daughter was missing and he was expecting Sherlock to find her. All Sherlock knew was that if he carried on thinking this way, he wasn't going to find The Girl anytime soon.

"Do you know why they don't get on? And her parents, do you have their number? I could get one of Lestrade's more agreeable officers to call them up and ask where their daughter is? I believe a child that young, _is_ able to do something as... drastic as kidnap another child but I don't believe that is the case. Although I will make sure that the parents are still called." Sherlock suddenly spat out, finally pausing for a moment before spinning around on the spot taking in as much information about his surroundings as possible. "I have missed something. Something really important that could help with the case. I don't know how or why or what it is but I will figure it out. I just need a few more moments to process things because I have only been on this case for... 10 minutes."

John bit his lip, hard during the last bit of Sherlock's little talk. He pulled the skin off of his upper lip until it was so sore that started biting his lower lip instead. He repeated the process, realising that his actions were not helping him one bit. He had to tell Sherlock before he figured it out himself.

"Before we contact them and everything, I should tell you something..." He sighed and lowered his eyes to the floor. "Alex, my daughter, she... Her... She's the reason I left... She's y... She's ours. She's your daughter too. I left because..."


	2. Chapter 2

_**John bit his lip. "Before we contact them and everything, I should tell you something..." He sighed and lowered his eyes to the floor. "Alex, my daughter, she... Her... She's the reason I left... She's y... She's ours. She's your daughter too. I left because..."**_

_**(****)**_

Sherlock stopped still, trying to process what John just said. Breathe caught in his throat and he was unable to breath. _Did he just hear what he thought he did?_

His heart raced at 100 miles per hour. _Daughter. His daughter._ Sherlock didn't believe that it could be possible. They were always carefully. Very carefully. John's contraceptive pills sat on the shelf above the sink in the bathroom reminding John that he had to take them every night. They were always taken, like clockwork and even if he forgot them, once he realised his mistake he could easily take the morning after pill?

Sherlock could still remember the last heat that they had shared despite the amount of time that had passed. It was unlike any heat they had shared in the year that they had been together. It was not rushed nor paced. It left him lost in the moment. On the edge for so long but not long enough. Left adrift in the eyes that stared up at him with adoration, devotion, passion. Finally speaking, no, shouting as the waves of his orgasm came over him. _John..._

At first, everything went on like normal, running around London, solving cases together but just before John's heat was due, he started to act weird. He started working longer hours at the surgery, ignoring his calls when he needed help with a case, sometimes not even coming home for days at a time with only a stupid excuse as to why he was gone. Sherlock had no idea as to what was going on but he just ignored John's strange behaviour and acted like everything was normal. A few weeks later he found John's clothes missing and a note next to his experiments saying:

_I'm sorry, I love you –JW x_

Sherlock tried calling John but every time, he was informed that John's number no longer existed. He searched all through the flat, turning everything upside down, looking for clues as to where John had gone but found nothing. It was like he had vanished into thin air.

That's when he found his secret stash. He walked back through to the living room, making sure not to trip over the mess that he had made. Sherlock carefully opened the small package, letting everything he needed, fall onto the coffee table. He looked at John's note one final time and plunged the needle into his arm, hoping to forget that the omega he loved, had walked away from him...

John sobbed once before collecting himself. "I'm sorry Sherlock. Mina's parent's number is in the address book beside the phone... I'll just go ring them..." John trailed off before heading for the door, avoiding Sherlock's gaze as he did not want to see the hurt in Sherlock's eyes. He had hoped that he would never have to come face to face with Sherlock again let alone tell him the truth about why he left.

Sherlock stayed in the same spot, not moving a muscle, still thinking things over. Even if he wanted to move, he didn't think that it would be possible to do so. He was in shock. Complete and utter shock and he didn't know how to disconnect with this feeling inside of him that kept making him feel...upset. Upset with John because he never told him about his daughter. Upset that he missed years with said daughter. Upset with Lestrade because apparently he knew where John was and never told him, even when he was so close to giving up on life after John left.

John returned a moment later clutching his phone, sobbing quietly to himself. He looked proud, yet extremely angry. So very angry. He walked over to Sherlock and gave him the phone, where a message was displayed, intended for them both.

I knew you'd called him. I'll be back in ten. -AW

"She's always asked about you and wanted to meet you..." John explained through a sob, letting all the worry go as he knew his baby was safe.

"She wanted to meet me." Sherlock asked with disbelief, moving slightly for the first time since he had been told about Alex. "You told her about me?"

John nodded. "Always... She knew from a young age that her daddy was out there somewhere but he was busy fighting criminals so he couldn't be with us. She always asked why she couldn't see you but always avoided her questions. Then as she grew up, she became more and more intent on finding you, looking through my stuff, finding the old blog, listening to the conversations that I had with Greg and my sister. Then she saw an article about you in the newspaper. Your name was there in big bold letters and she put two and two together. Then she found out that I had never told you about her. She became even more adamant asking me every day if she could see you but I was still scared so I said no, then she disappeared and I automatically reached for your number. Harry stopped me at first..." John looked down, ashamed. "She's always been smarter than me..."

Sherlock kept staring at John throughout his little speech. He really didn't know what to think of the situation. It was a good thing that John had told Alex about him right from the start but at the same time he never let Alex see him. "Why were you scared?" He finally asked nervously, hoping that John would not confirm his fears: that his ex was scared of him.

"I... I panicked. We'd been together for just under a year and I didn't want you to tell me to leave and that you didn't want children... you love the game so much... all the crimes and puzzles... I didn't see how you could want a child. So I ran before you could find out. I ran because I was scared." John's voice was quiet as he spoke.

"We could have at least spoken about it! I can't say that I would have reacted calmly but we would have sorted something out." Sherlock paused for a moment, trying not to get too angry and frustrated. He put a hand through his hair and began again. "I should have been there to help you, at least financially... How on earth have you managed to cope financially getting all the things that a child needs and paying for a house? You could hardly manage to keep up with the rent when you lived in Baker Street and that was without the additional cost of a child?"

John blushed, knowing that this next bit was going to make Sherlock angrier than ever. "M... Mycroft. He's helped us... A lot. He understood why I was running and he helped me... I am so sorry. Honestly. I am. I regret it... and I have no excuse, you have a right to be angry, just know I am truly sorry and I won't stop you seeing her. That'd be stupid now anyway..."

"MYCROFT. MYCROFT KNEW! How many people knew where you were and didn't tell me?! And what do you mean by a lot?" Sherlock went from annoyed to furious in a matter of seconds. The sibling rivalry between the pair had always been a little bit... extreme but the fact that his brother had firstly, helped out his ex when he didn't even know where John was and secondly, knew about his then, unborn child, before he did, annoyed him more than words could express. He paced across the lounge hoping to find something that he could take his angry out on.

There was a knock on the door and John froze. He placed a hand on Sherlock's arm. "Please, calm down. That's Alex... Listen, I'll get Harry to come by later and watch her, we can go for a walk and you can shout and scream at me all you like then but for now, please, calm..."

"How the fucking hell am I meant to calm down. In under 15 minutes you have told me that not only do I have a teenage daughter that I was never told about but that you left me because you was scared of how I would react, and that my brother, my brother who I hate, knew about this before I did and subsequently helped you out when that was meant to be _my_ job." Sherlock let the string of words exit his mouth at such a speed that even he was shock about how fast the words had come out. His alpha nature was starting to rise to the surface as he was getting angrier and angrier.

John knew he was wrong to hide this but he was extremely protective of his daughter because she meant everything to him. He didn't want Sherlock to scare her, even if she didn't scare easily. John took hold of Sherlock's arm and pulls him to a stop, looking him in the eyes. "Listen, Sherlock. That girl is my whole world and I know you probably want to kill me right now but unless you calm down right this second, I am going to shove you out that backdoor until you cool off. You are not meeting our daughter for the first time in this state."

The contact between the pair in that moment was electric, especially for Sherlock. For him it was like nothing had changed, that they were back in the past to when they had just revealed their feelings to one another. But that was not the case. "I think that shoving me out the backdoor for a minute would do me some good. I need to regain my composure before... I... I see her."

John nodded, pushing Sherlock towards the backdoor, his hand on his lower back as he opened it, allowing Sherlock to step out before he flashed him another smile and closed the door. He then went to the front door to let his daughter inside, breathing a bit heavier because he could still feel Sherlock's back underneath his fingertips.

Alex strolled in with a grin, not seeming to care she worried her dad sick. "So, where is he?"

John sighed and sat down, giving her a good talking to about disappearing.

While Sherlock was outside he took a couple of deep breaths, trying to regain his composure after such a stressful night. He couldn't believe that this was happening to him. Everyone he spoke to told him that John didn't tell them that he was leaving so he thought that John had left him because he had found another alpha, one better at looking after him, one who wouldn't keep human remains in the fridge. But this had to be a better outcome, right?

When Sherlock heard girl's voice, echoing through the kitchen window and into back garden, he froze. This was... this was his daughter. A child who he and John had made. She had literally been made out of their love and was now the only thing that showed that they had once loved each other.

He didn't even know what to say to her... his daughter. He didn't even like children. He remembered the time when he showed a child, pictures of a murder scene in hope to keep the child quiet for 10 minutes. But John came home and shouted at him, saying that children shouldn't be exposed to such brutal things and instead, John took the child through to his room so that they could watch a funny movie on John's laptop. From then on, John had always dealt with any children that they had come into contact with because he just couldn't deal with children. But now... now he had one of his own. One he would actually have to talk to and get along with...

John spent almost half an hour telling Alex off. By the end of it, she definitely understood why John was upset about what she did, but much like Sherlock, she didn't seem to really realise why what she had done was wrong. But it was wrong, even if what she did meant that Sherlock finally knew the truth. Wasn't that what he had always taught her, that telling the truth was_ always_ the best thing to do? He had learnt that the hard way after Sherlock had come back from the dead.

It was as if John should just be accepting of what she did. Maybe he should but God, the girl had worried him. Although she didn't understand that what she did immoral, he was already thinking about forgiving her... he really was a bad father.

He was going to send the girl up to her room as punishment for her bad behaviour when he remembered Sherlock who was in the garden, probably freezing by now. He rushed to the backdoor and opened it, smiling at Sherlock and gestured for him to come in.

Alex perked up, knowing that she was still getting want she wanted, to finally meet her father. The father she has dreamed about for so many years. Hopefully he would be exactly how she imagined him to be...

_**Thank you for all the follows, favourites and comments that we have received on this fic. We really appreciate it. **_


	3. Chapter 3

John ushered Sherlock back in, leading him through his house. The panic and worry increased with every step, causing his mind to throb as he tried to calm it down. His mind palace was suddenly becoming over crowded with new knowledge and understanding that only causing him to pain further. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't calm down, his body reacting like he had just had several strong, black coffees.

He suddenly froze on the spot, unable to get his body to move. His daughter was in there. She was right there, waiting to meet him. He knew little about her but it seemed that she knew everything about him. It felt nerve-wracking thinking that this girl expected him to be the kind caring father that one saw in movies.

But that was not him. He felt like he should just apologize and go home because no child should have him in their life. He was not good father material. He had no clue how to look after a child and if he was perfectly honest, he had never been interested in finding out. Before today.

He couldn't walk away from his child- _their_ child. He was responsible for her now and he would look after her to the best of his abilities.

He took one cautious step forward so that he could peek into the room. He was able to spot Alex pacing around the room, fiddling with her clothes and hair every so often. So far she had not spotted himself and John standing in the doorway as she seemed to be so nervous that she couldn't focus on anything.

John was standing next to him, looking at his nervous little girl. He did not think that he had ever seen her so anxious in all her life (and that was saying a lot since he got extremely nervous before every rounders match that she participated in!)

Sherlock took another step forward, now standing in the room with Alex only a few paces away from him. Alex's head whipped around, finally spotting Sherlock and was looked at him as though he was the largest Christmas present underneath the tree.

There were a few moments where no one spoke. Alex just stared at Sherlock, a smile on his lips as her fingers twitch. John grinned at that a bit, knowing that Alex really wanted to rush forward and wrap her skinny arms around Sherlock more than anything in the world. He wondered what was holding her back.

While she could be like Sherlock at times when it came to emotions, there was no doubt in John's mind that she understood what she wanted, maybe even needed to do. But once she held onto him, he did not think that she would ever let him go, worried that he would walk away from her. John thought that maybe, just maybe he had painted Sherlock in a bad light, making him seem like all he cared about was the work but years ago, that was what he had lived for. Hopefully now would be a different story.

It was a relief for all of them when she finally took a few steps forward, keeping eye contact with Sherlock all the time. Her eyes widen as she looked him up and down, understanding after all these years what her other father actually looked like in the flesh. Naturally she had seen pictures of him when she researched him every day but she knew that it would be nothing like meeting him in real life. Not at all.

Finally she smiled at him, her dimples showing as her cheeks were pushed aside. Anyone could see how happy she was simply by the look on her face in that moment and it looked like Alex was happy with what she saw.

Then she suddenly hugged Sherlock, arms squeezing tightly around his waist as her face pressed against his shirt, an even larger smile on her face as she got what she wanted. Another person to call family.

When Alex wrapped her arms around Sherlock, he froze (he seemed to be doing a lot of that). As a child, he was rarely cuddled by his parents or by anyone for that matter so this meant that as an adult, he didn't really know how to do so. Of course there was the occasional scary aunt that overwhelmed him with hugs and sloppy kisses but that just made him even more freaked out about the notion of hugging. The only good hugs that he had experienced had been from John but look where they had left him, all alone in the flat that they once shared.

So as the hug continued, her bony arms still around his rather slim waist and her chin wedged into his chest, he tried to figure out where he should put his body. Should he hug her back? Place his arm around her to pull her closer towards him? Place a hand on her head? He really wasn't sure and even though part of his brain was telling him to get her off of him, he let her continue hugging him, eventually wrapping his arm awkwardly around her shoulders.

Alex didn't care much that her father seemed awkward with her hugging him. Physical contact probably wasn't his thing. _Apart from with Dad_ she secretly thought. With everything he'd been told she didn't understand why her dad assumed that Sherlock didn't love him more than the work. Sherlock clearly loved him a hell of a lot from the look she had seen on Sherlock's face when he looked at John a few minutes ago.

With a happy sigh, she pulled out of the hug and looked up at Sherlock. He was tall but she didn't find it intimidating. He looked exactly how he did in the newspaper. Both her parents looked rather lost and she fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"Hi" She said eventually, looking at her father. Her grin hadn't left and it didn't look like it would be leaving anytime soon.

"Hello, Alex." Sherlock replied rather calmly considering where he was and who his reply was intended for. He still had not got his mind around the idea of having a teenage daughter. All he wanted to do was be left alone to go to his mind palace so he could think everything through, understand everything he had learnt in the past few hours. How Lestrade and his brother had betrayed him. How John had never told him the truth. That there was a possibility, a very small possibility that John still loved him... but he couldn't hold onto that, not only because the chance was very small, but also because he was not sure when he would ever be able to forgive John for what he had done even if the Alpha inside him was begging for him to forgive John.

When Alex smiled, she reminded Sherlock a lot of how John used to smile when he had done something amazing. Most of her appearance, for that matter, reminded Sherlock of John, everything except her hair. She had dark black curls that framed her face and went all the way down to her waist but were currently being held back by a hair tie. It seemed that her hair was the only thing that made her look like his daughter.

Although he didn't want to make a bad impression with his daughter, he had to say something to her about how worried John had been when she vanished like that. "I know your father has probably already shouted at you, probably given you the third degree about 'how worried he was and how you really shouldn't put yourself in danger like you did today' but even I have to say that what you did today was risky, necessary but risky nevertheless. And trust me when I say this, I know from experience that doing something that you may seem necessary, in your father's eyes will always be stupid."

Alex found herself chuckling at Sherlock's little speech. He'd pretty much hit the nail on the head with that one. John always thought the wrong things were stupid, like all her dishes in her room where she'd be growing moulds. She'd seen it in his face when he told her off, that she reminded him so much of Sherlock at times. It was clear it hurt him, to see that.

She didn't understand why he never told him. He was scared, obviously, but he's an ex-army doctor who's been shot and once returned home he'd been kidnapped and all sorts. Yet he was scare to tell the man he loved that they were going to have a child together. Alex didn't get her Dad, or humans for that matter, at times.

She looked at them both in turn and had enough decency to be ashamed at the sorry she'd caused. "I'm sorry I worried you. I won't pull anything like that again"

The smile of John's face suggested that he knew she would. He knew deep down that she took after her other father, getting into trouble every five minutes but no one would be able to stop her, no matter how hard they tried.

Sherlock smiled at his... daughter. "Good" he replied, not entirely sure what he was suppose to do in this situation. All he was sure of was that he was not walking away from her. Even though he had only met her a few minutes ago, he already realised how important she was to him. Firstly because she could fill the hole that John left when he walked out on him, but also due to the fact that he could read her like an open book and he saw exactly what he was like when he was her age (but with a slight hint of John about her.)

As time went by, no words were exchanged as they were not needed. They both seemed to understand each other simply by deducing the other person. When Alex was nine, Mycroft insisted on teaching her how to deduce people, explaining that she would be able to do better in life if she could do it. At first John had said no. What was the point in making her spend unnecessary time with Mycroft when she didn't need to? In the end, of course he agreed but now he could see exactly why Mycroft had done it. To make sure that when Sherlock was in Alex's life, they would be able to read each other and instantly _click._

It made John jealous.

While they continued to stare at each other, John decided that he couldn't stand there watching them _bond_ so he slipped on his shoes and a light coat before taking out his phone to check how close Harry was. He then walked out of the room and walked up and down the hall, waiting for Harry to reply so he knew how long he would have to wait until Sherlock killed him. As always, she sent back a message with a very colourful vocabulary saying she'd be five minutes.

While John was out of the room, the staring continued until Alex randomly started to laugh at how strange the situation was, and Sherlock started to laugh with her. Once they had calmed themselves down Alex asked Sherlock about his cases and Sherlock was only too happy to talk to her about them, leaving out all the scary bits as he did not think that John would appreciate it if he told her about some of the really bad stuff.

When there was a knock at the door, John breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that although Sherlock was going to be mad at him (which he really wasn't looking forward to), he would be able to get everything off his chest that had built up over the past few years.

He let Harry in and didn't have to explain further than 'Sherlock's here' for her to nod and enter the living room. She'd even brought an overnight bag. She was an angel, at times.

John can't help but smile at her, knowing that this was another one of many favours that she had done for him. Harry had been a huge help to him, looking after Alex when he couldn't, making sure that there was enough food in the cupboards, giving Alex the whole female and alpha/beta/omega talk when he knew that Alex wouldn't listen to him. He had no way of repaying her for everything that she had done to help and he realised that he never would find a way.

He then walked back into the living room, turning to Sherlock. He smiled a small, fake smile at Sherlock before Harry ordered Alex to her room, only because she bribed her to do so. "Let's go" John said, already walking out of the house.

"Ok." Sherlock replied, following John out of the front door. He stood on the curb of the pavement waiting for a taxi to come by so that they could go somewhere a little bit more private. They would definitely need some quiet too.


	4. Chapter 4

Once they were settled into the taxi, Sherlock let John decide where they were going as John obviously knew this area far better than the detective. John gave the cabbie the name of a local café that stayed open 24/7. It was a nice place and due to the lateness of the hour very few people would be there so it would be a great place to talk.

If John was honest, the whole cab ride was just awkward. Awkward and silent. He was not used to this with Sherlock. In the old days, Sherlock could be quiet for hours but it was never awkward. John could happily sit in Sherlock's company while he was in his mind palace and get on with other things but that was not the case with that cab journey. John wished he could open and jump out as he did not want to in the company of a silent Sherlock or an angry Sherlock (which he was bound to be once they talked things through.)

Sherlock was past the state of being shocked, he was going into full blown anger. Who did John think he was keeping his daughter away from him. He felt like he didn't know John anymore. He thought that John loved him, would do anything for him but that was all a lie. One big elaborate lie that left him heart-broken.

The cab stopped merely a few minutes after they had gotten in. Sherlock waited for John to get out and as he did so, he paid to taxi driver £20, telling him to keep the change as he did not want to wait around to get his change. He wanted answers and he wanted them now.

John led the way into the empty café, sitting down at a small table in the corner near the window. He smiled at one of the waitress who promptly came over to take their orders. First she turned to John and asked for his order, addressing him by his name seeing as he was a regular there.

"I'll just have a tea, please" For the life of him, John couldn't remember her name and was relieved when she turned her eyes quickly onto Sherlock and asked for his order.

"Coffee. Black. One sugar." He replied, looking at the waitress briefly before returning his eyes to the table.

The waitress kept staring at Sherlock, practically undressing him with her eyes. _So, she was an omega who couldn't resist the scent of an unbounded Alpha_ John thought trying to control the jealous that overwhelmed him as the waitress moved closer to Sherlock and took a deep breath in, taking in his strong scent. Finally Sherlock noticed the lingering omega waitress and gave her a very evil look that showed that he was not interested in her in the slightest. John breathed a sigh of relief. The waitress finally went away, flicking her hair angrily as she went.

John returned his attention to the man in front of him, feeling the awkward silence return and hit him like a steel door. Neither one knew what to say and neither one wanted to be the first one to speak. So they stared at each other silently.

Luckily the waitress returned only moments later, slamming the drinks on the table before walking away, obviously annoyed that Sherlock did not pay her any attention.

"So... I have a daughter." Sherlock began, stirring the coffee with a spoon absentmindedly as he poured some sugar into the cup. He added a little more than usually firstly because he hadn't eaten for a few days and secondly because he thought the sugar would help him with the shock. The shock that he couldn't seem to get rid of.

"Other than telling you that I'm a complete coward... I'm not too sure what answers I can give you..." John said, his eyes fixed firmly on the table as he too stirred his drink. He couldn't meet Sherlock's eyes. They reminded him of the mistake he had made all those years ago when he didn't tell him the truth and the fact that things between them could never return to how they were, to how amazing they were.

He didn't say a word more, hoping that the 'but I'll try' was implied.

"Coward?" Sherlock asked as he took a sip of his boiling hot coffee, regretting it as it burnt the tip of tongue.

"I was scared of your reaction... I didn't want you to find out and then tell me you didn't want a child or that you weren't sure you could have a kid around while you worked..." John gave a small shrug, still avoiding eye contact. "I wanted her from the moment I found out I was pregnant and I was worried you would reject her... both of us."

"So you ran away." Sherlock stated, taking another sip of his coffee to hide his shock appearance before staring at John intensely. There was a moment of silence between the pair before Sherlock spoke again. "I... I don't know...what to say."

"Well, as much as I wish you could say that you're fine with all this and want to just get on with life, I know that won't happen. You have every right to be angry with me..." John trailed off, picking up his cup to take a sip.

"I just... I just don't understand how it happened... How you could talk to Mycroft about it and not me. I thought you..." Sherlock said putting his head in his hands.

John's heart was hurting, he had a strong feeling the end of Sherlock's sentence was going to be 'loved me.' I thought you loved me...

If John was guilty before, he was feeling utterly terrible now. He wanted to say sorry again but he knew that there are only so many times you can say something before it loses its meaning.

"Listen, I don't know what would have happened if you had told me that you were pregnant all those years ago but I know that in the end I would have supported you _no matter what_ because I loved you _so much_." Sherlock was silent again, taking a deep breath before carrying on. "When you left I was devastated, I would have done anything to talk to you for a few minutes. I honestly don't know what to think and I don't know what to do and that annoys me because I always know what to do. You have sprung so much on my in the past hour that I feel like my mind palace is about to explode." Sherlock's voice had gradually risen during his little speech so when he stopped speaking, the cafe was so silent that you could now hear the traffic outside.

John nodded, understanding. He was silent too for a moment, just thinking over what Sherlock had said.

"I honestly wish I could just forgive you and get but I don't think I can. You went to Mycroft and not me. That hurts, more than I would care to miss. " Sherlock continued, staring at John straight in the eyes for the whole time. "I... I need to think about all of this. I need to process some of the things that you told me. I have thought for years that you were dead or with another alpha or... something but here you are sitting right in front of me. My Alpha is begging for me to take you back but I can't, I just... can't. Not after everything that has happened."

"I'm not expecting you to forgive me or take me back, ever." John told the other man honestly. "What I did... It's not something anyone should forgive. Especially the bit with going to your brother..."

Sherlock frowned at John. "So... you... you." Sherlock muttered realising that it was stupid even thinking that John might still like him. "I think I might have to kill my brother the next time I see him. At least I have thought about a good plan so I have a pretty good idea of how to do it without getting caught. He gave me a spare key a few years back making it ever so easy to asphyxiate my brother in his sleep without him even realising what was happening."

John opened his mouth, unsure if Sherlock was serious or not. It was hard to tell with Sherlock and John hated that he couldn't tell anymore.

"He helped quite a bit and I know he didn't like keeping it from you. That bit was all my idea..." John said, knowing he owed Mycroft a lot and if stopping his brother from killing him was the price, then he would do it.

_Of course Mycroft had gone and played the superhero_ Sherlock thought. He has a bloody power complex so having power over both Sherlock and John would defiantly give his ego a boost. "How much money did he give you over the years?" Sherlock asked, knowing that he wouldn't let Mycroft have power over him or John again. It was his was his job to support his family and that's what he was going to do from now on.

John blushed at the thought of the actual moment, looking down at the table again. "Errr... Quite a bit. He helped with the house at first and a few bits for Alex with she was younger. Just till I got a job. Harry mainly helps me manage now. Looking after Alex while I work so I don't need a babysitter, such like that"

"I am guessing that the house cost about £200,000, well, that's what most 2 bedroom houses in this part of London cost. I will have to pay him back immediately. I can't have that debt hanging over you. I can't really pay Harry back as she probably likes to spend time with Alex and therefore doesn't take money from you even though you probably offer to pay her." Sherlock announced, flagging the waitress down so that he could get another coffee to go.

John didn't get another tea so he merely finished his off as he nodded to Sherlock. "He said I didn't need to pay him back but we both know it's the power, not the money that he wants... I... Thank you, Sherlock. I... I really appreciate this. I've got a bit of money saved up in an account. Maybe approaching £10,000"

"I don't need your money." Sherlock quickly said, taking his wallet out of his trouser pocket so that he could pay for the drinks. "As soon as I have paid him back then he won't have any power over you. And it's fine, by the way. You shouldn't have to worry about _my _brother having control over you."

John sighed, rubbing his eyes with his hands. "Please, I need you to take my money. I can't... I can't have you helping us out in such a large way when I don't deserve your help after everything that I have done."

Sherlock raised his eyebrows at John, trying to use his dominant Alpha voice on him so he would let him help them out. John had been coping on his own for too long and Sherlock knew that he didn't have a lot of money whereas Sherlock did and he was willing to help. Alex was his daughter too. "John , it's fine. I want to do it. For you _and_ Alex"

"Sherlock we don't need your help." John said, adamantly. He wasn't going to let Sherlock push him over on this one. Just because he was a rich Alpha didn't mean that he had the right to walk into his life and try and make him feel like a scrounger or a kept Omega.

"Take the money." Sherlock ordered, starting to get annoyed at John's stubbornness.

"No, I can't."

"IF YOU HAD ASKED FOR MY HELP IN THE FIRST PLACE WE WOULDN'T BE IN THIS MESSIN THE FIRST PLACE." Sherlock shouted, finally losing his temper. He had been holding in all this anger that he felt for John and Mycroft but he couldn't keep it in any longer. It was doing his bloody head in. "I need to get out of here." He stated, scrambling up, grabbing his cup and fleeing out of the door.

John just stared as the man ran away, hoping that he wasn't running out of their lives for good.


	5. Chapter 5

_Two Weeks Later..._

"John you have one last patient to see and then you are finished for the day." The receptionist said through the intercom. It had been two weeks, since John had last seen Sherlock. Every day he texted him to make sure he was ok but Sherlock never answered them. When he didn't reply, John made sure to ask Mycroft to watch over him because he didn't want Sherlock to go back on the drugs or hurt himself because of him. That would break his heart.

Suddenly the door opened and in walked Sherlock, tall and well dressed, the definition of handsome. He walked across the room and sat down in the plastic seat that was placed opposite to John. He took one look at John then slumped in the seat, his head falling into his hands, forcibly rubbing his eyes before running them through his hair.

After a minute or two of silence, Sherlock looked up and John and started to speak. "I haven't slept much over the past few weeks. I have been thinking a lot. I'm still angry, very angry but I don't want to waste any more time with my daughter."

Over the past two weeks, Sherlock had not taken any cases, not because he didn't want to (he thought at one stage that it would be a good distraction from everything that had happened) but because he couldn't focus on anything other than Alex. Every time he thought about her he got a mixture of feelings in the pit of his stomach that wouldn't go away.

At first he felt happy because the Alpha inside of him had managed to succeed in making his omega pregnant but then when he remembered said omega he felt an intense anger, one that he wasn't able to control. He had missed out on so much because of John and he knew that he would never be able to get that time back with his daughter. Maybe they would never get a good father-daughter relationship like one was meant to with the Alpha father. But then he realised that he couldn't blame it on John entirely. If he had been a better Alpha, a better partner, a better father figure then John wouldn't have felt the need to remove himself from Sherlock's life. In some way, he only had himself to balme.

There was more silence as John was not sure if Sherlock had finished talking. When it was obvious that he had he spoke for the first time. "You're bound to be angry Sherlock. It's a lot to take in."

"It was a lot to take it but I think I have managed to understand the truth." Sherlock looked at John straight in the eye, refusing to break eye contact. "Last time we spoke you said something about spending time with Alex."

John smiled, happy that Sherlock wanted to see Alex again but at the same time he felt a hint of sadness over the fact that this probably meant that if he had told Sherlock about Alex all those years ago then they would have been able to stay together, as a family. "Yes of course. She goes to school Monday to Friday, 8:30-3:30. Maybe you could take her or even collect her from school. She would love that."

"Yes. I would like that also. I don't know how we could come to arrangement on that though as I never know when I am free. As you know, cases are often sprung onto me and I spend days on them without noticing when the days past but other times they only last a few hours so I can't really see Alex on set days for a set amount of time like some fathers would."

John rested his elbow on the table and let his chine sit on his hand. "Well... how about you text me the night before you want to see her and I will see if I can arrange something. We should probably stick to one or two days a week to start with, to get her used to the situation but then we can increase that if you wish."

Sherlock sat up in the chair suddenly, smiling a bright smile. "Yes. Yes. That's a good idea. I think I could work with that."

John turned around and started to log out of his computer, wanting to get home as soon as possible to talk to Alex. She had been off with him since she first met Sherlock and he knew that possible, just possibly, she would begin to talk to him again if she knew that Sherlock wanted to start picking her up and taking her to school a few days a week. "Maybe you could pick her up from school tomorrow if you're not busy?"

"I don't believe that I will be busy then so yes, I would like that very much." Sherlock smiled at John. He had worried that John had possibly changed his mind about him being able to see Alex but it was obvious now that was not the case. If anything John was encouraging Sherlock to see Alex.

Seeing that there was nothing else to talk about John started to pack the remainder of his things away. When he had finished he stood up and turned back around, noticing that Sherlock was still sitting in the plastic seat watching him intensely. "You coming?" John asked walking out of the office door. He quickly said goodbye to his colleague as he went to reception, dropping off his patient notes as he went.

"I'll walk you home." Sherlock said as they reached the car park. He immediately started to walk off in the direction of John's house, not turning around to see if he was folowing.

"You don't need to do that." John replied, smiling warmly at Sherlock because he knew that Sherlock would never have done this before and it was... nice.

"I can't let you walk home in the dark just because my appointment took longer than it should have."

As usual, it seemed that John had nothing to say. Not that he minded. He quickly caught up to the detective, walking beside him. He had to take almost two steps just to match one of Sherlock's. A small smile came to John's face, remembering running through streets and over rooftops after the man as they gave chase to a criminal.

Sherlock kept a slow pace, giving himself time to think about everything before he finally spoke up to John. "How did you find out you was pregnant?"

"Oh. Well I was throwing up in the mornings and just thought that I was ill. I didn't even consider the possibility... Then Sarah poked my stomach and made a joke about me being pregnant... I panicked and did a test..." John shrugged, not wanting make a bigger deal out of this.

"Oh." Sherlock mumbled. If Sarah had noticed then he defiantly should have. It wasn't right that he had to go through that all that on his own. "Did the pregnancy go ok? No complications?"

John nodded. "Yeah. It was all fine. She was born in May. Eighteenth. Just after two in the morning. She was a little bit early and really small. Scared the hell out of me. I felt like I'd hold her too tight and crush her"

"I'm sorry to hear that." Sherlock confessed, totally out of his depth in this conversation but knowing that he needed answers. "But she's ok now?"

John grinned. "She is. More than okay. She plays for the rounders team, loves sports. Maths too. She's already smarter than me..." He trailed off, a smile on his face.

"I bet that's not true. You're smart... in your own way." Sherlock smirked.

John laughed gently. "Which is your way of saying I'm an idiot that doesn't have the 'right' knowledge or whatever." Despite his words, John's tone showed he doesn't mind being called stupid by Sherlock, or his daughter for that matter.

"I wouldn't say that you don't have the 'right' knowledge. Your medical knowledge often came in handy in the past but some things you retain in that head of yours is pointless and a total waste of space." Sherlock admitted, remembering the good old times.

John just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Mr. Space isn't important"

"It isn't. It really isn't." Sherlock muttered, slowing his steps down as he was rather enjoying his time with John. "What school does she go to?"

"Oh, one not far from the house. It's called St. Richmond's even though it's not overly religious. I think it was, once upon a time" John shrugged. "She doesn't talk much about it beside the lessons and the people she hates"

"That's good." Sherlock approved, trying to think if he had ever heard about that school before. "What are her favourite lessons? She looks like you so she _must_ have my intelligence."

"PE, like I said. She loves sports and Maths. She's just a whiz with numbers. She's good at science too, physics and chemistry, but she doesn't like them quite as much" John told him, remembering all the faces Alex had pulled when she told him about her chemistry test that she had had the previous week.

"Shame... Chemistry is a very interesting subject but it's good that she like maths. Seems that she is more like my mother than me." Sherlock commented, remembering his mother who was a mathematical genius. She would love Alex, especially as she is her grandchild...

John looked down, realising that it wasn't just Sherlock he had deprived of a relationship with Alex. It was all of Sherlock's family, except for Mycroft...

"Does she play any instruments?" Sherlock asked, loving the amount of information hat he was gaining about his daughter in such a small space of time.

"Harry's been teaching her a bit of guitar but she seems more interested in playing for the rounders team. She's thinking about running for captain, but you know how girls can be. Just vote for their friends and well... Alex doesn't have any. Well, I suppose she does have two friends in particular but they aren't that interested in sports so they can't vote for her"

"Oh." Sherlock said. When he was younger he didn't have any friends either but that didn't matter to him. People were stupid anyway. However the matter was clearly upsetting his daughter.

"She doesn't want friends, if that's what you're thinking." John assured him. "She just wants to be Captain and boss them about"

Sherlock laughed at that. She seemed to be more like him than he first thought. "Uhmm... how are you doing?" Sherlock asked curiously, wanting to hear more about his daughter but at the same time interested in how John was. He was still very angry with John but the love that he once had for John was still there, hidden behind a paper thin wall that could easily be broken once the anger had disappeared.

John wasn't expecting that, at all. He smiled anyway, happy that Sherlock still seemed to care, maybe not as much as before, but he still did a bit, enough to ask how he was. It was... nice.

John must have found that question uncomfortable Sherlock thought to himself, rubbing his hands together due to the cold of the night. John didn't love him anymore. He had probably moved on. Possibly found a new mate... Damn. Sherlock needed to make John forget about it. Quickly. "How come you and your sister are getting along? Last time I heard, you two weren't talking."

"Oh, we still disagreed. A lot. But she's family and I needed help so she helped me... Time of need, all that lot. And now we're close again. It's all because of Alex, really" John laughed even though it was very true. Without Alex he'd never had been close to his sister again. Maybe Alex could help him and Sherlock become close again.

Sherlock smiled at John, not because he was happy but because it was good mannered to do so. '_Time of Need' _... Alex brought John and his alcoholic sister and them apart...Yet she split himself and John up in a weird way... how did that work... "That's nice... Alex must like having her aunt around?" He asked, again only to be polite.

"She does, especially now that Harry has kicked the booze. She sobered up for her niece but not the woman she loves. Funny how things like that work..." John gave a feeble laugh.

"That's good." Sherlock replied simply, not really wanting to talk about John's sister any longer. He didn't know what else to say so he just silently continued walked next to John, not too close but not too far away from his side.


	6. Chapter 6

It was too long and too soon when they reach John's house. The silence was not like the silence that they were used to all those years ago when they lived together and Sherlock was in his mind palace. It was too hesitant, too awkward, too unknown. It was as if they didn't know each other anymore, two different people from two different towns who had never had met. But they both knew that wasn't the case. They had just gone through so much when they were apart that they had changed as people, changed so much that they couldn't recognise each other anymore.

John didn't say a word as Sherlock followed him up the path and inside the lit house and the moment they were over the threshold, John sighed, a harsh, almost world-shattering sigh.

"Alex is up" He said, pointing to the sliver of light emerging from up the stairs. Alex often disobeyed him when it came to bedtimes and house rules but this just annoyed him more than normal. She must have known that Sherlock had turned up at his work and they had spoken, probably by the fact that John had left his phone off or the fact that he hadn't returned home at the usual time. God, why had she inherited Sherlock's bloody mind reading powers!

"It's... 11'clock... and a school night." Sherlock stated, looking at John's face which had suddenly turned angry... no, upset.

"If you were in her position, would you go to sleep when your omega dad told you to?" John asked, standing at the bottom of the stairs and debating what to do. He could tell her to go to sleep or he could call her down, let her stay with Sherlock for a while and have her be a moody little thing in the morning before school. Briefly he considered allowing her to have the day off but he knew that that would only aggravate the problem.

"I suppose not." Sherlock replied, standing nervously in the hallway. He knew that children often didn't obey their omega parent as much as they would their alpha one but he had thought a lot over the past few days and he had come to the conclusion that John would be the strict parent out of the both of them. "Maybe I should go?"

Of course he didn't want to go but he couldn't just walk into John's life and act like nothing had happened. John had hurt him, badly but he still loved John like the day that he left. However he realised that John had probably moved on him, had a better life without him. No more experiment in the kitchen. No more dark days. No more Sherlock...

John bit his lip, not wanting Sherlock to leave but knowing he couldn't act like the last twelve years didn't happen. He knew that after all the pain that he had caused his daughter that he couldn't make Sherlock not see her but then again he needed to keep his distance from Sherlock as much as he could. John nodded to Sherlock, heading toward the door so that he could at least show the alpha out.

Suddenly there's a shrill cry of "NO!" from the top of the stairs and both men turn to see their daughter standing there appearing almost close to tears. It breaks both of their hearts to hear their daughter so upset, especially when it's their fault. They have hurt her enough already.

Sherlock quickly turned around when he heard the scream. Suddenly a little body ran down the stairs and grabbed hold of him tightly around his shoulders.

"You can't go. You left last time and I didn't get to see you again. I thought you were gone. Don't leave again." The voice screamed, tears obviously falling down her cheeks as she buried her head in Sherlock's shoulder.

Sherlock feels conflicted. He can't leave his daughter in this state but at the same time he can't butt into John's life, especially after John made the effort to get away from him all those years ago.

John swallowed harshly, hating the way she sounded so heartbroken. What he hated more was the fact he was going to have to break it even more because he needed to distance himself as he couldn't let himself get hurt when Sherlock made it clear that they could never be a couple again after all that he had done.

"Alex... Y-"

"No!" She looked around just a bit, but she's still clung onto Sherlock. "I got him here before and you made him leave! I'm going to let you take him away from me again! He's staying tonight, at least." Alex then looked back to Sherlock. "Dad, you're staying!"

She defiantly wasn't asking.

John sighed, his head bowing down so that Sherlock couldn't read the look on his face an see the heart ache. He didn't say a word, not exactly agreeing but not arguing either.

"I can sleep on the sofa." Sherlock suggested, not wanting to impose on John but really wanting to stay. It's not really like he had a choice in the matter as his daughter had a death grip on him.

"There's a spare room." John told Sherlock, his head still bowed but the tears managed to stay in even though he realised that he had hurt his daughter, caused her to hate him. "Harry uses it from time to time."

John hesitated before he turned and headed upstairs to show Sherlock the room so he could escape to his room as quickly as possible.

"Ok... thanks." Sherlock replied, plying Alex's arms off of his body so that he could follow John upstairs."I really appreciate this."

Alex smiled, keeping quiet and knowing she got her way once again. With luck, she could make this more frequent. Having her dad's in one place...

"I don't have any spare clothes or a toothbrush or... anything." Sherlock realised, trying to think of a way round it. "I will just have to go home early and get changed because I have a meeting with a client at 9."

John nodded. "Well, Alex will be in school by then.. So.." John trailed off after that, not up to adding 'so you have no reason to be here' because that sounded far kinder in his head then it would out loud.

"Ok... well that's good." Sherlock commented, looking around the spare bedroom. "I don't really understand why you want me here though, Alex? You have to get to bed now and by the time you wake up I will probably be gone."

Alex shrugs and smiles. "You're coming back after, right? When I get back from school?"

"That depends on what your dad says." Sherlock replied, smiling at his daughter. He was so happy that his daughter wanted him in her life. If he couldn't have John then at least he would have her.

"Course. I won't be home till 5 but you two can go and get an earlier dinner if you want." He would be having a takeaway for one then. It just showed him how he was losing her, losing her slowly to the man he has loved for 14 years.

"Thanks." Sherlock said, smiling at John. "I really appreciate it. I want to get to know her properly, teach her new things and always be there for her. I won't let her down."

Alex frowned, putting her hair up in a ponytail. "I am here, you know!"

John smiled at Alex and then at Sherlock. He trusted that Sherlock wouldn't let her down when she only wanted Sherlock in her life..

"Yes, well... I thought that you should both know that." Sherlock answered, looking down at the floor awkwardly.

Alex slid her much smaller hand into Sherlock's and beamed up at her dad. "I trust you. And I know dad does too."

John doesn't breathe a word, just gives a very slight nod in agreement.

"Good." Sherlock replied, squeezing her hand. It was only slightly smaller than his own but it fit perfectly into his hand. It was weird but it felt right.

"I'm going to go and have some food." John announced before he turned around and walked out of the room, needing to get away from _his_ alpha's pheromones.

Alex grinned when John disappeared and turned back to Sherlock. "He's happy you're back, you know. He's missed you."

Alex can remember, when she was six, she and Harry could hear her dad crying softly from downstairs. Harry had held her close and explained that it was her dad's - Sherlock's - birthday. Since then, John always got sad on Sherlock's birthday and what used to be their anniversary. She'd never heard him cry after that night, though. Despite that, Alex knew he still cried about it. Sometimes she'd come home from school and John would have red eyes.

She didn't like seeing anyone she cared about like that.

"I don't think he is." Sherlock stated simply. Even though Alex probably knew John better than he did as she had known him for longer than Sherlock had and had known the person that he had become after he left Sherlock, but he knew she was wrong. John would have gotten in contact with him sooner if he missed him like Sherlock had missed him and John was not acting happy. It seemed that he was only letting Sherlock see Alex because he was her father and he couldn't do anything to change that.

"You're wrong. He is." She shaked her head, the few curls that had not been put in the hair tie bounced around as she did.

"He isn't." Sherlock argued quietly, hoping that Alex wouldn't hear him. He walked around the spare room. It looked like any other room. Bed, Wardrobe, Bedside table, Rug. The walls were white, almost like a hospital but it didn't bother Sherlock. He had slept in worst places, especially when he went on a drugs spree after John had left.

Alex heard, but didn't say a word. She waited a moment before she went over to Sherlock and hugged him fiercely. "Promise you'll be here when I get back from school"

Sherlock was starting to like hugging Alex. She was the perfect size and ever so warm. Her scent was like John but totally different. Trees and jam and chemicals. "I promise." He whispered, brushing his lips over the top of her head in an almost tender kiss.

Alex grinned before tightening her arms for a moment and then running off to her room, bumping into John on her way out the door. She yelled a goodnight to them both.

John gave a small chuckle before he turned to Sherlock, feeling a little bit better after having some food. "I just came to say that I'm going to bed. My room's at the end of corridor if you need anything. I'll be up at half six and I usually wake Alex up at seven for school"

"Ok..." Sherlock replied quietly, sitting down on the bed. "And John, thank you for this. You didn't have to be so nice about all of this."

John had to laugh at that. "I think that if anyone is being too nice about this, it's you..."

"Hhhh... Me! I don't think I'm being nice. I walked out on you two weeks ago. I should have got outside for some air and then returned and asked all those questions that I asked today. I suppose at first I was confused, I didn't really know what to say. But when I went home and thought about it all, as the days went on I saw Alex in my mind and it calmed me down a bit. I just... I don't know... I am angry but I then I look at her and it reminds me that you looked after her, raised her, made her, carried her all on your own so I can't be completely angry with you." Sherlock admitted, putting his head in his hands. He was still so confused.

John didn't know what to do. His Omega nature was screaming at him to go comfort the man that his Omega considered his Alpha. But John knew he couldn't do that. That would only make Sherlock reject him and that would cause him too much pain.

In the end, John just mumbled the words "I'm sorry" before he left the room.

Sherlock settled down on the bed, snuggling under the warm duvet, hoping that his brain would let him get to sleep as he really wasn't in the mood to ponder over what had happened over the past two weeks as he had done every night since he had found out about Alex.

Despite everything - the stress, the worry he'd felt, the drama, the high strung emotions - John was out like a light the moment his head hit the pillow.


	7. Chapter 7

The second Alex walked into school; all she wanted was for the bell to ring indicating that it was the end of the day. Lunchtime came around quickly, thankfully, and Alex was put into a slightly better mood by her two friends, Nate (Nathan) and Val whilst they ate their lunch in the packed dining room.

Val, typically, demanded to know everything about Sherlock and what happened while Nate sat there, listened and soothingly rubbed Alex's back. Soon, the bell to signal the end of the day went and Alex gives her two friends a hug before rushing out the doors.

Luckily Alex didn't have rounders practice after school so she practically ran home, excited about seeing her dad again. She rushed through to the living room, dropping her bag in the hall on the way through and when she walked through the door, she saw him sitting awkwardly on the sofa.

Without thinking, Alex launched herself at Sherlock and hugged him - so glad he did come back.

Sherlock happily cuddled Alex as she gripped onto him with all her strength. He had spent most of the day thinking about the situation that he had been thrown into and he realised that he wanted to be there for his daughter for _all her life_. "How was your day at school?" Sherlock asked, still holding onto Alex tightly.

"Okay." Alex shrugged. She looked over her shoulder. "Where is _he_?"

"Your dad?" Sherlock questioned, not liking the tone of Alex's voice when she spoke about John but he didn't feel that he was in the position to be telling Alex off when he had only been in her life properly for a day or so.

Alex nodded sitting beside Sherlock. She had frown on her face. _Didn't Sherlock blame John too?_

"He popped a key round to my flat earlier and told me that he would be late home." Sherlock replied, looking around the house again. "What do you want to do until he gets home?"

Alex shrugged. "I dunno."

"We can go back to my place for a few hours. It's not big but I can show you some of the work that I have been doing over the past couple of weeks? Maybe even some experiments if you are good." Sherlock raised his eyebrows at her.

That made Alex nod, "Yeah. Sounds good"

"Ok. Come on then. We can get a cab from here." Sherlock said, getting up off the sofa and started to move towards the front door.

Grinning, Alex followed her father. She made sure to lock the door behind them, as she knew that it would only make john angry, possibly even worried about her safety if she didn't lock it properly and after this morning she didn't want to make him even angrier.

The cab journey was made in silence, neither of them knowing what to talk about so they said nothing. Nothing what so ever. When they reached Baker Street however, they did not stop talking from the minute they walked in. If it wasn't Alex asking Sherlock questions about her experiments it was Sherlock asking Alex about her life.

The time flew past and Alex had a smile on her face the whole time, feeling as though the time she hadn't had with her dad wasn't as huge a gap in her life as it really was because now he was here and they just _clicked._

It was amazing how they just got each other despite never spending one day together. They talked about experiments and school and some of Sherlock's less distressing cases. Sherlock even managed to find out a bit about what John was doing now a days (he worked in a private clinic on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays and on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays he worked in an omega clinic which specialised in helping omegas who weren't bonded and needed help).

Alex didn't want to mention it to Sherlock but she knew that her dad had been seeing a lovely man from the clinic - another doctor. They just had a casual thing and Alex met the man once. He really was a nice person and he treated John wonderfully… but he wasn't Alex's dad. She wished that they could be a proper family, living in the same house, eating breakfast together in the mornings, everything.

After about 3 hours of talking, Sherlock's mobile went off, John's name flashing across the screen. "Hello?" Sherlock said, looking through the fridge to see if they had any food in.

"Before I start panicking again, I thought I'd check if she is with you." John trails off awkwardly, half worried for his daughter's whereabouts and half knowing she was with Sherlock.

"Yep." Sherlock said, popping the p loudly. "What time do you want her home?" Sherlock searched through the cupboards trying to find something edible for Alex to eat. He found a packet of biscuits…. They weren't mouldy but he didn't think that they were a healthy meal for a growing girl. "Is she allowed to eat a takeaway because it's getting late and I'm meant to feed her if she's hungry, right?"

"Yes, that's fine for one night. You, err, can keep her with you too, for the night. As long as you get her to school for half eight" John tells the other, his voice shaky even through the phone.

"For the night?" Sherlock replied, shocked by the question so much so that a sense of panic rushed through his body like a sudden fire rushing through his veins. _How are you meant to look after a child? _Sherlock thought. He had no clue how he was meant to keep a child happy but also make sure that said child didn't have you wrapped around his little finger. It was a hard balance to fulfil and he had only known her for just under a day so he really didn't think it would be good for him to look after her. He was still unsure as to whether he would be a good parent.

"Are you sure that… that I'm capable of looking after her? Sometimes I don't speak for long periods of time and I play the violin during the night…. And the body parts… god she would be put into care if she saw the body parts and was scared for life although she is my daughter, she must have inherited my genes so I don't think it would scar her."

That makes John giggle a little more. "You will be fine Sherlock. She's twelve. Twelve year olds are pretty independent you just need to make sure to set boundaries and it will be fine. Do you have body part lying around? Might want to put them away for now if you do"

"There are some in the freezer but they are hidden behind the peas." Sherlock said seriously.

"To be honest, I don't think Alex would much care. She has a strong stomach. Still, don't go showing her gruesome pictures or anything especially before bed. I don't want to have to deal with a distressed daughter tomorrow when she sees a picture of a beheading." He laughs again, more nervously this time.

He didn't want to sound like he was telling Sherlock how to care for their daughter but he wanted to make sure Alex was perfectly okay.

"Of course. I will try not to show her anything too gruesome. Have a good evening."

"You too" John mumbles before the dialling tone fills his ear.

Sherlock immediately calls up the Chinese takeaway before going into the lounge to see what Alex wanted.

Once the food was ordered, Alex sits on the sofa and looks round the room. She wanted to learn as much about her father as she could.

"Your dad said you could stay round here tonight, if you want to." Sherlock mentioned to Alex as he sat down on the sofa, moving all the crap out of the way so he could sit down.

Alex just nods, only half listening to Sherlock as she looks around.

Sherlock doesn't say anything else when he realises that she is too absorbed in her surroundings than what he has to say. He watches her as she looks around, taking everything in.

Suddenly, Alex turns back to Sherlock. "Why did you and dad not bond?"

Sherlock was shocked by the sudden question, which was rather personally. "We were going to bond just before your dad... left."

Alex smirks "You mean that dad wanted to wait, right?"

"Your father wanted to wait until we knew each other better, until we had been courting for a substantial amount of time. He wanted wait until we were _both_ ready for it." Sherlock stated, trying to emphasise that it was a joint decision. At first Sherlock had been really worried about bonding so he totally agreed with what John proposed but as time went on he changed his mind and tried to persuade John to do so but he wouldn't budge, until two weeks before he left.

"Aunt Harry always made out that you were the one wanting to bond but dad wouldn't for whatever reason" She frowns, suddenly. "It's really odd calling you both dad"

"Yes, I wanted to bond but your dad did too. He just wanted to make sure that we loved each other first before we rushed into anything." Sherlock smiled at Alex trying to convince her that this was the true. He didn't want her to hate John because he had suddenly come into her life. "Why is it weird?"

"Because what if I call 'dad' and you have no idea if I mean you or dad. I can't call one of you father because that's far too formal and daddy is just childish." She shrugs, easily distracted from the topic of her dads bonding. "I'll get used to it"

"I understand. I don't think it matters too much though. Just go with what you feel is natural. It must be really strange for you, all of this." Sherlock waved his arm around indicating everything around him.

"I dunno. I've imagined meeting you in so many different ways and imagined this place so often. Seems, well, it just seems right, really"

"Right?" Sherlock questioned, raising his eyebrows at his daughter. "I would have thought that you might have hoped for a father who was a bit more... normal."

Alex chuckles and just shakes her head as a reply.

"What?" Sherlock said frantically, staring at Alex worryingly. "What have I done wrong?"

"Nothing" Alex replies. "I was just thinking that I don't really want a normal father. That's so. …boring" The girl laughs again.

Sherlock laughs with her, realising how much like him she sounded.

"Sherlock, can't you hear the bell. It's been ringing for 5 minutes now. I had to pay for your Chinese, by the way." Mrs Hudson said as she entered the flat carrying the plastic bag full of food.

"It's in the fridge. It kept ringing." Sherlock replied, taking the bag from Mrs Hudson.

"Ms Hudson!" Alex suddenly cries, over excited. She leans forward and beams at the woman. "Dad told me lots about you. Said that you were like a mother to him!"

Mrs Hudson awkwardly patted Alex's back, sending questioning glances to Sherlock. "That's nice, dear but... but who are you and… who is your father?"

"Oh, right" Alex chuckles, realising that she wouldn't know who she is. "John. John's my dad. Sherlock too!" She grins, her mouth stretching wider and wider as her excitement grows.

"John, John Watson? But... but John left Sherlock over 10 years ago. They can't have a daughter." Mrs Hudson wondered staring at Alex with shocked eyes.

"John was pregnant with Alex when he left, Mrs Hudson." Sherlock stated putting the Chinese on the kitchen table. He turned around and looked at the shocked Mrs Hudson who was standing in the middle of the living room, Alex wrapped around her and her mouth wide open." Maybe you should take a seat. You look quite shocked. And tea. Tea is good for shock apparently."

Alex blinks, feeling a little bad for dropping the news like that. "I'll make the tea" Alex offers. "How do you take it?"

"Milky, no sugar please dear. It's all just a bit of a shock!" Mrs Hudson commented, sitting down in John's old seat. "We all knew that John must have left for a reason, but pregnant… a child defiantly wasn't the reason."

Sherlock sat next to Mrs Hudson taking her hands in his own. "It was for me too, Mrs Hudson."

"Oh, you didn't know? But…"

"No, I only found out when John texted me asking for my help a few weeks ago." Sherlock smiled a small smile, squeezing Mrs Hudson's hands.

Alex looks through the cupboards and finds a tray for the tea, setting everything up. As she does, she tries not to listen to the conversation in the over room.

Mrs Hudson squeezes Sherlock's hand back. "Was that why I heard a lot of crashing in the flat a few weeks ago?" Sherlock weakly nodded. "That must have been hard for you dear but you could have come and talked to me about it, get some of it off of your chest."

"I know... I just... I... at the time I didn't really know how I was feeling and you know how I don't like talking and being _sociable_." Sherlock said, the disgust evident in his voice.

Alex giggles at Sherlock's words and smiles sheepishly when the two adults look over at her. "Sorry"

"She looks like John. Except for the hair. That is defiantly your hair." Mrs Hudson muttered under her breath, hoping no one would hear her comment

However, Sherlock did and simply smiled and Mrs Hudson, knowing that she was correct. Although he was upset that she did not look like him, he knew that even if he could never had John back, he would always have a bit of him in the form of his daughter.

Five minutes later, Alex brought a tray in with all their tea. Her own was black with no sugar and she picks it up, blowing it and taking a quick sip, briefly burning her tongue.

"Does your father allow you to drink tea?" Sherlock asked raising his eyebrows at her.

"He does. I'm just impatient" She smiles a little.

Sherlock smiles back, relieved. "Good. I didn't want him shouting at me because I allowed you to have a cup of tea."

Alex rolls her eyes "I'm twelve. I think I can handle tea. Now if you were giving me alcohol, you'd have him shouting at you"

"Well you know what your father is like. He used to tell me off just for leaving dirty washing in the sink." Sherlock smiled at the fond memory, although at the time he was defiantly not smiling when John started shouting at him and ordered him to clean it up immediately.

"Remember the time you left a foot which had a fungal infection in the shower and John made you go out and get commercial strength disinfectant. When you returned he forced you to get on your hands and knees and scrub it clean otherwise he said that he would break your microscope." Mrs Hudson laughed at the memory, holding her stomach when it began to hurt, as she was laughing so hard.

Alex just smiles at the adults, liking the way she was hearing about what it was like before she came into the picture and John left said picture...

"How is your father anyway?" Mrs Hudson asked.

"Good. It's date night tonight so-" Alex stops suddenly, her eyes widening as she realised what she said. She'd told herself she'd let John inform Sherlock that he's dating an Alpha. _Damn._

Sherlock looked down at the floor, his heart sinking when he heard what Alex had said. Not only was John dating someone, which made him realise that John had probably moved on but also that Alex was only staying at his because John wasn't going to be in the house to look after their daughter so he had to find someone else to do it.

"You don't need him Sherlock." Mrs Hudson said, squeezing Sherlock's hand as if she knew what he was thinking about. "Now you can move on and find a nice young omega girl."

"I'm sorry" Alex mumbles. "I didn't mean to upset you..."

"It's fine, Alex. It wasn't your fault." Sherlock said, sadly.

"Dad's not serious about him... They're more like friends," She says, not sure if she was helping or making it worse.

"Friend who go out on dates? It's ok Alex I get it, you don't need to lie to make me feel better." Sherlock smiled his daughter, loving how she was trying to make him better. It would normally be John who would do something like that for him but no, he had to try and forget about John, move on from him. He had spent 12 years thinking about John and where did that get him? Nowhere.

Alex shakes her head "I'm not lying. It's like they're in an awkward stage where one wants to be more but the other doesn't."

"But they will end up together in the end. He would probably be a better father to you than I would ever be." Sherlock stood up, angry with John, with everyone, with the world. John probably respected this guy more than he would ever respect Sherlock. There had to be a proper reason why John left him in the first place, not just because he was worried how Sherlock would react.

"He still cries about you. On your birthday and on your anniversary. And I'm not meant to know that so please don't tell I told you"

"What?" Sherlock looked up, shocked.

"On your birthday. And on the anniversary of the day you two got together. Dad locks himself in his room for a few hours after I've gone to bed and he cries... A lot." Alex tells Sherlock with a small smile.

Sherlock stares at Alex in shock. "But... but he left me. If he wanted to be with me then he wouldn't have left." Sherlock stated, looking down at the floor.

"I think. He left because he wanted to remember the times that you loved him, just in case you decided you didn't want a child. He didn't want those memories. So he took stupid measures to make sure that never happened." She shrugs. "But I don't know for sure. He doesn't tell me a lot about his feelings. But I know that he loves you. Maybe not how he used to, but at least as a friend."

"goddamn it..." Sherlock shouted, throwing a glass cup against the wall, smashing it into miniature pieces. "He should have told me! I was his partner. We told each other everything!"

"Sherlock! You're going to scare the poor girl." Mrs Hudson screeched, grabbing onto Sherlock's arm and pulling him back. "Calm down!"

Alex flinches when Sherlock threw the glass and even though she understood his anger, she didn't like seeing Sherlock so upset and angry.

"Sorry! Sorry. I shouldn't have done that." Sherlock walked over to Alex and showed the first sign of affection towards his daughter. He hugged her. "I'm so sorry. I really shouldn't have done that in front of you. Please don't tell your dad because he would kill me if he knew." Sherlock said into her hair.

"It's okay" Alex mumbles, hugging back tightly. "Just don't want you to be upset"

"I'm not upset, just a little bit annoyed. It's just the alpha in me being a pain in the neck and making everything ten times worst." Sherlock said annoyed, letting go of his daughter and smiling at her.

"Now I'm going to take my night soother and then go to bed. If you need anything then just come down and get me." Mrs Hudson announced, going downstairs pretty quickly for someone who had a bad hip. She just wanted to leave them alone to have a good time as they had already missed out on so much time.

Alex nods "I suppose that I could understand that. In a few years. If I present as an Alpha"

"Your dad believes you will present as an Alpha." Sherlock admitted, smiling at his daughter before starting to get the Chinese ready. He plated it up, putting it in the microwave, warming up Alex's plate before his own. "I'll clean that up later, just be carefully. Make sure you don't stand on the broken glass."

Alex accepts her dinner with a smile, tucking in,

When Sherlock's meal was ready he sat down on the chair opposite Alex, tucking in but also taking time to watch Alex eat as well.

Alex smiles softly, happy that Sherlock was worried and liked watching over her.

"Do you hate me because I haven't been in your life since the start, like your dad?" Sherlock said suddenly. He had been wondering this for days now but he had never had the courage to ask her.

She blinks and stares at him for a moment, looking as if she'd just watched a head magically sprout from his shoulder. She was torn between shaking her head and calling him stupid and throwing her arms around him. In the end, she speaks in an odd voice that sounded like she was on the verge of tears. "Of course not. It's not your fault."

"But Alex, it is my fault, in a way." Sherlock looked at her straight in the eye, not taking his eyes off her once. "You probably don't know enough about the world we live in so I will try and explain to for you. An alpha's job is to protect his mate. In theory I didn't do that. Your dad felt the need to get away from me even though biologically he should want to be close to his alpha all the time especially whilst he was pregnant. So, to conclude, there must be something wrong with _me_ if he had to leave me." Sherlock finally took his eyes off of Alex, shrugging like it didn't matter.

He had spent the past two weeks trying to find a reason why John would leave him and the explanation he had just given Alex was the only one he would think of. It couldn't just be that John was scared about how Sherlock would react, that just wouldn't make sense. He had to be lying.

"You're right" Alex nods, face serious. "I don't know much about it all and probably lack a lot of knowledge on the subject" She pauses for a brief moment. "But I know my dad. He is stupidly good at ignoring his Omega instincts and he's ridiculously stubborn. He convinced himself that you wouldn't love me or him if you found out, so he left, ignoring his wants as an Omega" Moving closer, Alex places a hand on Sherlock's arm "so do not blame yourself"

"I never thought that I would have such a wise daughter." Sherlock chuckles, moving to face his daughter and smiling widely at her. "You are right in that respect. He was always stubborn before so he probably still is. I will try and remember that, for your sake."

Alex narrows her eyes a little, seeing how Sherlock avoided the subject of the him blaming himself. She drops it though. She wouldn't get involved in their relationship - not unless she absolutely had to for their sake. For now, she'd enjoy having Sherlock around and get to know him better. Sewing her family together could wait a while. Surely, she thinks, if they're meant to be together things will work out in time.

Although, she'd never been the patient type.

"Food. Eat. Now." Sherlock ordered, realising that the food would be stone cold if they didn't start eating it soon enough. He didn't want to look like a bad father would didn't feed his daughter although he had a feeling that she might have picked up his eating habits.

Alex nods and immediately does as Sherlock asks. Not because she's the obedient type of child (she's really not) but because she's starved and it'd be rude _and_mean to refuse what her dad wants. Sometimes, her rebellious streak confuses her. Maybe it just comes with growing up.

When she's done, she collects their plate and takes them into the kitchen. Automatically, she turns the kettle on. She liked it here. It felt like home just as much as her actual home did.

Sherlock watches as his daughter clears away without him mentioning that she needed to do it. She thought about telling her that he could do it but then it was so nice to see _his _daughter acting so normal around _his _home. It was almost as if she had lived here all her life. Once Sherlock had finished his dinner, he got and also cleaned away his things, staying out of Alex's way so she could do her own thing. He remembered when he grew up that he hated adults acting like they were more superior and always needed to know where he was and what he was doing. He didn't want his daughter to think that of him so he gave her a bit of space but of course not too as that would make him irresponsible (he found that out from the internet).

Alex makes her tea before he glances down the hall to where Sherlock's room and the bathroom were. "Where will I be sleeping during my visits?" She tilts her head to look at Sherlock, seeming very child-like in the action.

Sherlock smiles at Alex briefly before walking towards the kitchen door. "If you follow me I can show you." He walks out of the door, hoping that Alex is following him. "This will be your room. You can decorate it however you like. It. It used to John's... your dad's room before he started to sleep in my bed." Sherlock walks over to the bed and takes a few of the boxes with his chemistry equipment inside off of the bed, moving it to the side of the room so that he can put them in his room when it comes to Alex's bedtime.

Alex nods and looks around with eager eyes, imagining all the different ways she could decorate it. She could imagine it as blue. Or maybe a lilac. She could get Nathan to come round and help and then she could introduce her friends to Sherlock and they'd all have fun getting covered in paint.

"This is going to be great" Alex grins and quickly gives Sherlock a hug.

"Yes I think it will be." Sherlock says hugging his daughter back. It would be like having a piece of John back while she stayed over...

Alex let herself get lost in all the possibilities of the decoration of this room. It was very exciting. Also, it felt like by doing this is going to be restarting something. Not just for her but for all of them. This would be her room, not 'John's old room' and it might, she hopes, help them all adjust to this new life and to this situation. God, the not prying was already getting difficult and it was only half an hour ago she told herself that in no way would she meddle in her parent's love life.

_Okay_, she thinks to herself, _not Nathan. I'll get dad to come help us. We can decorate this room as a family._

Sherlock sits on the bed looking around the room. He hasn't been in here in so long that it is quite weird for him to see it again. It felt like yesterday that he was helping John move in to Baker Street, placing the single box full of his possessions into the room. Now it would be Alex moving into the room, not John but it was still better than having no one occupying the room, he would no longer be alone all the time.

"Maybe we should get you some stuff tomorrow to put in the room. You're defiantly going to need a better bed... and a bookcase... and a desk and a few other bits and pieces." Sherlock suggests, turning back to Alex.

Alex nods "Yeah, that sounds great. Thank you." She then beams at Sherlock, coming out of her thoughts.

"Good." Sherlock beams at Alex, happy with their little arrangement. He realised that if Alex had a proper bedroom that she could call her own, then maybe she would come round often, spend a few nights a week round Baker Street. As long as John let her...

"I already like it here" Alex tells her father with a small grin, leaning into him. A yawn escapes her, causing her to frown. She didn't want to go to sleep yet. She wanted to stay up and talk to her dad.

Sherlock frowned, seeing his daughter yawn when he wasn't sure what he should do. Personally he thought that it was way too early to sleep but then he remembered that he himself didn't sleep often when most normal people slept everyday for at least 6 hours. "You should sleep. I just need to get the remainder of the boxes through to the living room and then I can put some sheets on the bed for you."

Alex nods. "Okay. I have to get to school tomorrow anyway"

Sherlock nods, picking up a box and began to carry it down the stairs, knowing that this might take a while. "Do you have any clothes with you that you could wear to bed?" Sherlock called out, dumping the box on his chair.

"Uhmmmm." Alex looks around and walks into the living room to get her bag. She holds it in the air triumphantly "Yep!"

"You can use the bathroom next to my room to get dressed in while I put these boxes away and sort out your bed. There should be a spare toothbrush in the cabinet so you can use that to brush your teeth." Sherlock said, going up the stairs to get another box.

Alex nods and heads into the bathroom. She takes her time in changing into her pyjamas that were covered in a repeat pattern of different sport balls; baseballs, basketballs, tennis balls and footballs.

Once she'd finished with changing and had folded her clothes up and placed them in the bag, Alex peers into the mirror. She stares for a long time, noting the similarities between her and Sherlock. Not for the first time either.

The biggest and most obvious feature that they shared was the hair. Hers sat in long ringlets that reached her shoulders and was the same dark brown colour.

Smiling, Alex ties her hair up before brushing her teeth and leaving the bathroom.

Sherlock had managed to get all of the boxes downstairs into the lounge and had begun the struggle of putting the sheets on when Alex entered. Although Sherlock hadn't lived at his parents' house since he was 17, he still was unable to put the goddamn sheets on. Usually he removed them and shoved them in the washing machine and by the time that he had come back from a case, they were already on the bed (he thought Mrs Hudson did it even though she claimed not to be his housekeeper.)

Alex giggles when she sees Sherlock's struggle and moves to help by pulling the top corners over the mattress as Sherlock does the bottom. She then helps to put the sheets on the duvet and cases on the pillows. Between the two of them, they easily managed to sort the bed out.

"Thank you." Sherlock smiles at his daughter, walking over to the door before turning around. "If you need anything just call down to me. I should be awake but if I'm not just knock on my bedroom door and come in."

"Okay. Night, Dad..." Alex hesitates a moment but decides that saying the L word may be a little premature at this time. "Goodnight" She repeats, smiling.

"Night darling." The sentimental word flowing off his tongue so easily yet it made a knot form in his chest. He was getting attached to the girl who looked so much like John yet was so much like himself.

Alex smiles to herself, pleased that John couldn't have bee further from the truth. Sherlock seemed to be fine, happy even, that she existed. That was an amazing feeling. Only a tiny part of her believed that Sherlock may not want her but she was relived anyway.

She climbs into the bed and not long after lying down, she drifts into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

Thoughts kept flowing through Sherlock's head, making it near impossible to stay still for 5 minutes. In only a few weeks his life had changed so much... defiantly for the better. He had a daughter who was perfect and a complete little miracle. He had never thought about having children but now he had one, he loved the idea more than he could ever admit. He also had John back (in a way). Although they were not together (and probably never would be) their friendship meant a great deal to Sherlock and even if it was slightly awkward at the moment, he was sure that things would return back to how they were when they were friends in no time.


	8. Chapter 8

The second Alex walked into school; all she wanted was for the bell to ring indicating that it was the end of the day. Lunchtime came around quickly, thankfully, and Alex was put into a slightly better mood by her two friends, Nate (Nathan) and Val whilst they ate their lunch in the packed dining room.

Val, typically, demanded to know everything about Sherlock and what happened while Nate sat there, listened and soothingly rubbed Alex's back. Soon, the bell to signal the end of the day went and Alex gives her two friends a hug before rushing out the doors.

Luckily Alex didn't have rounders practice after school so she practically ran home, excited about seeing her dad again. She rushed through to the living room, dropping her bag in the hall on the way through and when she walked through the door, she saw him sitting awkwardly on the sofa.

Without thinking, Alex launched herself at Sherlock and hugged him - so glad he did come back.

Sherlock happily cuddled Alex as she gripped onto him with all her strength. He had spent most of the day thinking about the situation that he had been thrown into and he realised that he wanted to be there for his daughter for _all her life_. "How was your day at school?" Sherlock asked, still holding onto Alex tightly.

"Okay." Alex shrugged. She looked over her shoulder. "Where is _he_?"

"Your dad?" Sherlock questioned, not liking the tone of Alex's voice when she spoke about John but he didn't feel that he was in the position to be telling Alex off when he had only been in her life properly for a day or so.

Alex nodded sitting beside Sherlock. She had frown on her face. _Didn't Sherlock blame John too?_

"He popped a key round to my flat earlier and told me that he would be late home." Sherlock replied, looking around the house again. "What do you want to do until he gets home?"

Alex shrugged. "I dunno."

"We can go back to my place for a few hours. It's not big but I can show you some of the work that I have been doing over the past couple of weeks? Maybe even some experiments if you are good." Sherlock raised his eyebrows at her.

That made Alex nod, "Yeah. Sounds good"

"Ok. Come on then. We can get a cab from here." Sherlock said, getting up off the sofa and started to move towards the front door.

Grinning, Alex followed her father. She made sure to lock the door behind them, as she knew that it would only make john angry, possibly even worried about her safety if she didn't lock it properly and after this morning she didn't want to make him even angrier.

The cab journey was made in silence, neither of them knowing what to talk about so they said nothing. Nothing what so ever. When they reached Baker Street however, they did not stop talking from the minute they walked in. If it wasn't Alex asking Sherlock questions about her experiments it was Sherlock asking Alex about her life.

The time flew past and Alex had a smile on her face the whole time, feeling as though the time she hadn't had with her dad wasn't as huge a gap in her life as it really was because now he was here and they just _clicked._

It was amazing how they just got each other despite never spending one day together. They talked about experiments and school and some of Sherlock's less distressing cases. Sherlock even managed to find out a bit about what John was doing now a days (he worked in a private clinic on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays and on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays he worked in an omega clinic which specialised in helping omegas who weren't bonded and needed help).

Alex didn't want to mention it to Sherlock but she knew that her dad had been seeing a lovely man from the clinic - another doctor. They just had a casual thing and Alex met the man once. He really was a nice person and he treated John wonderfully… but he wasn't Alex's dad. She wished that they could be a proper family, living in the same house, eating breakfast together in the mornings, everything.

After about 3 hours of talking, Sherlock's mobile went off, John's name flashing across the screen. "Hello?" Sherlock said, looking through the fridge to see if they had any food in.

"Before I start panicking again, I thought I'd check if she is with you." John trails off awkwardly, half worried for his daughter's whereabouts and half knowing she was with Sherlock.

"Yep." Sherlock said, popping the p loudly. "What time do you want her home?" Sherlock searched through the cupboards trying to find something edible for Alex to eat. He found a packet of biscuits…. They weren't mouldy but he didn't think that they were a healthy meal for a growing girl. "Is she allowed to eat a takeaway because it's getting late and I'm meant to feed her if she's hungry, right?"

"Yes, that's fine for one night. You, err, can keep her with you too, for the night. As long as you get her to school for half eight" John tells the other, his voice shaky even through the phone.

"For the night?" Sherlock replied, shocked by the question so much so that a sense of panic rushed through his body like a sudden fire rushing through his veins. _How are you meant to look after a child? _Sherlock thought. He had no clue how he was meant to keep a child happy but also make sure that said child didn't have you wrapped around his little finger. It was a hard balance to fulfil and he had only known her for just under a day so he really didn't think it would be good for him to look after her. He was still unsure as to whether he would be a good parent.

"Are you sure that… that I'm capable of looking after her? Sometimes I don't speak for long periods of time and I play the violin during the night…. And the body parts… god she would be put into care if she saw the body parts and was scared for life although she is my daughter, she must have inherited my genes so I don't think it would scar her."

That makes John giggle a little more. "You will be fine Sherlock. She's twelve. Twelve year olds are pretty independent you just need to make sure to set boundaries and it will be fine. Do you have body part lying around? Might want to put them away for now if you do"

"There are some in the freezer but they are hidden behind the peas." Sherlock said seriously.

"To be honest, I don't think Alex would much care. She has a strong stomach. Still, don't go showing her gruesome pictures or anything especially before bed. I don't want to have to deal with a distressed daughter tomorrow when she sees a picture of a beheading." He laughs again, more nervously this time.

He didn't want to sound like he was telling Sherlock how to care for their daughter but he wanted to make sure Alex was perfectly okay.

"Of course. I will try not to show her anything too gruesome. Have a good evening."

"You too" John mumbles before the dialling tone fills his ear.

Sherlock immediately calls up the Chinese takeaway before going into the lounge to see what Alex wanted.

Once the food was ordered, Alex sits on the sofa and looks round the room. She wanted to learn as much about her father as she could.

"Your dad said you could stay round here tonight, if you want to." Sherlock mentioned to Alex as he sat down on the sofa, moving all the crap out of the way so he could sit down.

Alex just nods, only half listening to Sherlock as she looks around.

Sherlock doesn't say anything else when he realises that she is too absorbed in her surroundings than what he has to say. He watches her as she looks around, taking everything in.

Suddenly, Alex turns back to Sherlock. "Why did you and dad not bond?"

Sherlock was shocked by the sudden question, which was rather personally. "We were going to bond just before your dad... left."

Alex smirks "You mean that dad wanted to wait, right?"

"Your father wanted to wait until we knew each other better, until we had been courting for a substantial amount of time. He wanted wait until we were _both_ ready for it." Sherlock stated, trying to emphasise that it was a joint decision. At first Sherlock had been really worried about bonding so he totally agreed with what John proposed but as time went on he changed his mind and tried to persuade John to do so but he wouldn't budge, until two weeks before he left.

"Aunt Harry always made out that you were the one wanting to bond but dad wouldn't for whatever reason" She frowns, suddenly. "It's really odd calling you both dad"

"Yes, I wanted to bond but your dad did too. He just wanted to make sure that we loved each other first before we rushed into anything." Sherlock smiled at Alex trying to convince her that this was the true. He didn't want her to hate John because he had suddenly come into her life. "Why is it weird?"

"Because what if I call 'dad' and you have no idea if I mean you or dad. I can't call one of you father because that's far too formal and daddy is just childish." She shrugs, easily distracted from the topic of her dads bonding. "I'll get used to it"

"I understand. I don't think it matters too much though. Just go with what you feel is natural. It must be really strange for you, all of this." Sherlock waved his arm around indicating everything around him.

"I dunno. I've imagined meeting you in so many different ways and imagined this place so often. Seems, well, it just seems right, really"

"Right?" Sherlock questioned, raising his eyebrows at his daughter. "I would have thought that you might have hoped for a father who was a bit more... normal."

Alex chuckles and just shakes her head as a reply.

"What?" Sherlock said frantically, staring at Alex worryingly. "What have I done wrong?"

"Nothing" Alex replies. "I was just thinking that I don't really want a normal father. That's so. …boring" The girl laughs again.

Sherlock laughs with her, realising how much like him she sounded.

"Sherlock, can't you hear the bell. It's been ringing for 5 minutes now. I had to pay for your Chinese, by the way." Mrs Hudson said as she entered the flat carrying the plastic bag full of food.

"It's in the fridge. It kept ringing." Sherlock replied, taking the bag from Mrs Hudson.

"Ms Hudson!" Alex suddenly cries, over excited. She leans forward and beams at the woman. "Dad told me lots about you. Said that you were like a mother to him!"

Mrs Hudson awkwardly patted Alex's back, sending questioning glances to Sherlock. "That's nice, dear but... but who are you and… who is your father?"

"Oh, right" Alex chuckles, realising that she wouldn't know who she is. "John. John's my dad. Sherlock too!" She grins, her mouth stretching wider and wider as her excitement grows.

"John, John Watson? But... but John left Sherlock over 10 years ago. They can't have a daughter." Mrs Hudson wondered staring at Alex with shocked eyes.

"John was pregnant with Alex when he left, Mrs Hudson." Sherlock stated putting the Chinese on the kitchen table. He turned around and looked at the shocked Mrs Hudson who was standing in the middle of the living room, Alex wrapped around her and her mouth wide open." Maybe you should take a seat. You look quite shocked. And tea. Tea is good for shock apparently."

Alex blinks, feeling a little bad for dropping the news like that. "I'll make the tea" Alex offers. "How do you take it?"

"Milky, no sugar please dear. It's all just a bit of a shock!" Mrs Hudson commented, sitting down in John's old seat. "We all knew that John must have left for a reason, but pregnant… a child defiantly wasn't the reason."

Sherlock sat next to Mrs Hudson taking her hands in his own. "It was for me too, Mrs Hudson."

"Oh, you didn't know? But…"

"No, I only found out when John texted me asking for my help a few weeks ago." Sherlock smiled a small smile, squeezing Mrs Hudson's hands.

Alex looks through the cupboards and finds a tray for the tea, setting everything up. As she does, she tries not to listen to the conversation in the over room.

Mrs Hudson squeezes Sherlock's hand back. "Was that why I heard a lot of crashing in the flat a few weeks ago?" Sherlock weakly nodded. "That must have been hard for you dear but you could have come and talked to me about it, get some of it off of your chest."

"I know... I just... I... at the time I didn't really know how I was feeling and you know how I don't like talking and being _sociable_." Sherlock said, the disgust evident in his voice.

Alex giggles at Sherlock's words and smiles sheepishly when the two adults look over at her. "Sorry"

"She looks like John. Except for the hair. That is defiantly your hair." Mrs Hudson muttered under her breath, hoping no one would hear her comment

However, Sherlock did and simply smiled and Mrs Hudson, knowing that she was correct. Although he was upset that she did not look like him, he knew that even if he could never had John back, he would always have a bit of him in the form of his daughter.

Five minutes later, Alex brought a tray in with all their tea. Her own was black with no sugar and she picks it up, blowing it and taking a quick sip, briefly burning her tongue.

"Does your father allow you to drink tea?" Sherlock asked raising his eyebrows at her.

"He does. I'm just impatient" She smiles a little.

Sherlock smiles back, relieved. "Good. I didn't want him shouting at me because I allowed you to have a cup of tea."

Alex rolls her eyes "I'm twelve. I think I can handle tea. Now if you were giving me alcohol, you'd have him shouting at you"

"Well you know what your father is like. He used to tell me off just for leaving dirty washing in the sink." Sherlock smiled at the fond memory, although at the time he was defiantly not smiling when John started shouting at him and ordered him to clean it up immediately.

"Remember the time you left a foot which had a fungal infection in the shower and John made you go out and get commercial strength disinfectant. When you returned he forced you to get on your hands and knees and scrub it clean otherwise he said that he would break your microscope." Mrs Hudson laughed at the memory, holding her stomach when it began to hurt, as she was laughing so hard.

Alex just smiles at the adults, liking the way she was hearing about what it was like before she came into the picture and John left said picture...

"How is your father anyway?" Mrs Hudson asked.

"Good. It's date night tonight so-" Alex stops suddenly, her eyes widening as she realised what she said. She'd told herself she'd let John inform Sherlock that he's dating an Alpha. _Damn._

Sherlock looked down at the floor, his heart sinking when he heard what Alex had said. Not only was John dating someone, which made him realise that John had probably moved on but also that Alex was only staying at his because John wasn't going to be in the house to look after their daughter so he had to find someone else to do it.

"You don't need him Sherlock." Mrs Hudson said, squeezing Sherlock's hand as if she knew what he was thinking about. "Now you can move on and find a nice young omega girl."

"I'm sorry" Alex mumbles. "I didn't mean to upset you..."

"It's fine, Alex. It wasn't your fault." Sherlock said, sadly.

"Dad's not serious about him... They're more like friends," She says, not sure if she was helping or making it worse.

"Friend who go out on dates? It's ok Alex I get it, you don't need to lie to make me feel better." Sherlock smiled his daughter, loving how she was trying to make him better. It would normally be John who would do something like that for him but no, he had to try and forget about John, move on from him. He had spent 12 years thinking about John and where did that get him? Nowhere.

Alex shakes her head "I'm not lying. It's like they're in an awkward stage where one wants to be more but the other doesn't."

"But they will end up together in the end. He would probably be a better father to you than I would ever be." Sherlock stood up, angry with John, with everyone, with the world. John probably respected this guy more than he would ever respect Sherlock. There had to be a proper reason why John left him in the first place, not just because he was worried how Sherlock would react.

"He still cries about you. On your birthday and on your anniversary. And I'm not meant to know that so please don't tell I told you"

"What?" Sherlock looked up, shocked.

"On your birthday. And on the anniversary of the day you two got together. Dad locks himself in his room for a few hours after I've gone to bed and he cries... A lot." Alex tells Sherlock with a small smile.

Sherlock stares at Alex in shock. "But... but he left me. If he wanted to be with me then he wouldn't have left." Sherlock stated, looking down at the floor.

"I think. He left because he wanted to remember the times that you loved him, just in case you decided you didn't want a child. He didn't want those memories. So he took stupid measures to make sure that never happened." She shrugs. "But I don't know for sure. He doesn't tell me a lot about his feelings. But I know that he loves you. Maybe not how he used to, but at least as a friend."

"goddamn it..." Sherlock shouted, throwing a glass cup against the wall, smashing it into miniature pieces. "He should have told me! I was his partner. We told each other everything!"

"Sherlock! You're going to scare the poor girl." Mrs Hudson screeched, grabbing onto Sherlock's arm and pulling him back. "Calm down!"

Alex flinches when Sherlock threw the glass and even though she understood his anger, she didn't like seeing Sherlock so upset and angry.

"Sorry! Sorry. I shouldn't have done that." Sherlock walked over to Alex and showed the first sign of affection towards his daughter. He hugged her. "I'm so sorry. I really shouldn't have done that in front of you. Please don't tell your dad because he would kill me if he knew." Sherlock said into her hair.

"It's okay" Alex mumbles, hugging back tightly. "Just don't want you to be upset"

"I'm not upset, just a little bit annoyed. It's just the alpha in me being a pain in the neck and making everything ten times worst." Sherlock said annoyed, letting go of his daughter and smiling at her.

"Now I'm going to take my night soother and then go to bed. If you need anything then just come down and get me." Mrs Hudson announced, going downstairs pretty quickly for someone who had a bad hip. She just wanted to leave them alone to have a good time as they had already missed out on so much time.

Alex nods "I suppose that I could understand that. In a few years. If I present as an Alpha"

"Your dad believes you will present as an Alpha." Sherlock admitted, smiling at his daughter before starting to get the Chinese ready. He plated it up, putting it in the microwave, warming up Alex's plate before his own. "I'll clean that up later, just be carefully. Make sure you don't stand on the broken glass."

Alex accepts her dinner with a smile, tucking in,

When Sherlock's meal was ready he sat down on the chair opposite Alex, tucking in but also taking time to watch Alex eat as well.

Alex smiles softly, happy that Sherlock was worried and liked watching over her.

"Do you hate me because I haven't been in your life since the start, like your dad?" Sherlock said suddenly. He had been wondering this for days now but he had never had the courage to ask her.

She blinks and stares at him for a moment, looking as if she'd just watched a head magically sprout from his shoulder. She was torn between shaking her head and calling him stupid and throwing her arms around him. In the end, she speaks in an odd voice that sounded like she was on the verge of tears. "Of course not. It's not your fault."

"But Alex, it is my fault, in a way." Sherlock looked at her straight in the eye, not taking his eyes off her once. "You probably don't know enough about the world we live in so I will try and explain to for you. An alpha's job is to protect his mate. In theory I didn't do that. Your dad felt the need to get away from me even though biologically he should want to be close to his alpha all the time especially whilst he was pregnant. So, to conclude, there must be something wrong with _me_ if he had to leave me." Sherlock finally took his eyes off of Alex, shrugging like it didn't matter.

He had spent the past two weeks trying to find a reason why John would leave him and the explanation he had just given Alex was the only one he would think of. It couldn't just be that John was scared about how Sherlock would react, that just wouldn't make sense. He had to be lying.

"You're right" Alex nods, face serious. "I don't know much about it all and probably lack a lot of knowledge on the subject" She pauses for a brief moment. "But I know my dad. He is stupidly good at ignoring his Omega instincts and he's ridiculously stubborn. He convinced himself that you wouldn't love me or him if you found out, so he left, ignoring his wants as an Omega" Moving closer, Alex places a hand on Sherlock's arm "so do not blame yourself"

"I never thought that I would have such a wise daughter." Sherlock chuckles, moving to face his daughter and smiling widely at her. "You are right in that respect. He was always stubborn before so he probably still is. I will try and remember that, for your sake."

Alex narrows her eyes a little, seeing how Sherlock avoided the subject of the him blaming himself. She drops it though. She wouldn't get involved in their relationship - not unless she absolutely had to for their sake. For now, she'd enjoy having Sherlock around and get to know him better. Sewing her family together could wait a while. Surely, she thinks, if they're meant to be together things will work out in time.

Although, she'd never been the patient type.

"Food. Eat. Now." Sherlock ordered, realising that the food would be stone cold if they didn't start eating it soon enough. He didn't want to look like a bad father would didn't feed his daughter although he had a feeling that she might have picked up his eating habits.

Alex nods and immediately does as Sherlock asks. Not because she's the obedient type of child (she's really not) but because she's starved and it'd be rude _and_mean to refuse what her dad wants. Sometimes, her rebellious streak confuses her. Maybe it just comes with growing up.

When she's done, she collects their plate and takes them into the kitchen. Automatically, she turns the kettle on. She liked it here. It felt like home just as much as her actual home did.

Sherlock watches as his daughter clears away without him mentioning that she needed to do it. She thought about telling her that he could do it but then it was so nice to see _his _daughter acting so normal around _his _home. It was almost as if she had lived here all her life. Once Sherlock had finished his dinner, he got and also cleaned away his things, staying out of Alex's way so she could do her own thing. He remembered when he grew up that he hated adults acting like they were more superior and always needed to know where he was and what he was doing. He didn't want his daughter to think that of him so he gave her a bit of space but of course not too as that would make him irresponsible (he found that out from the internet).

Alex makes her tea before he glances down the hall to where Sherlock's room and the bathroom were. "Where will I be sleeping during my visits?" She tilts her head to look at Sherlock, seeming very child-like in the action.

Sherlock smiles at Alex briefly before walking towards the kitchen door. "If you follow me I can show you." He walks out of the door, hoping that Alex is following him. "This will be your room. You can decorate it however you like. It. It used to John's... your dad's room before he started to sleep in my bed." Sherlock walks over to the bed and takes a few of the boxes with his chemistry equipment inside off of the bed, moving it to the side of the room so that he can put them in his room when it comes to Alex's bedtime.

Alex nods and looks around with eager eyes, imagining all the different ways she could decorate it. She could imagine it as blue. Or maybe a lilac. She could get Nathan to come round and help and then she could introduce her friends to Sherlock and they'd all have fun getting covered in paint.

"This is going to be great" Alex grins and quickly gives Sherlock a hug.

"Yes I think it will be." Sherlock says hugging his daughter back. It would be like having a piece of John back while she stayed over...

Alex let herself get lost in all the possibilities of the decoration of this room. It was very exciting. Also, it felt like by doing this is going to be restarting something. Not just for her but for all of them. This would be her room, not 'John's old room' and it might, she hopes, help them all adjust to this new life and to this situation. God, the not prying was already getting difficult and it was only half an hour ago she told herself that in no way would she meddle in her parent's love life.

_Okay_, she thinks to herself, _not Nathan. I'll get dad to come help us. We can decorate this room as a family._

Sherlock sits on the bed looking around the room. He hasn't been in here in so long that it is quite weird for him to see it again. It felt like yesterday that he was helping John move in to Baker Street, placing the single box full of his possessions into the room. Now it would be Alex moving into the room, not John but it was still better than having no one occupying the room, he would no longer be alone all the time.

"Maybe we should get you some stuff tomorrow to put in the room. You're defiantly going to need a better bed... and a bookcase... and a desk and a few other bits and pieces." Sherlock suggests, turning back to Alex.

Alex nods "Yeah, that sounds great. Thank you." She then beams at Sherlock, coming out of her thoughts.

"Good." Sherlock beams at Alex, happy with their little arrangement. He realised that if Alex had a proper bedroom that she could call her own, then maybe she would come round often, spend a few nights a week round Baker Street. As long as John let her...

"I already like it here" Alex tells her father with a small grin, leaning into him. A yawn escapes her, causing her to frown. She didn't want to go to sleep yet. She wanted to stay up and talk to her dad.

Sherlock frowned, seeing his daughter yawn when he wasn't sure what he should do. Personally he thought that it was way too early to sleep but then he remembered that he himself didn't sleep often when most normal people slept everyday for at least 6 hours. "You should sleep. I just need to get the remainder of the boxes through to the living room and then I can put some sheets on the bed for you."

Alex nods. "Okay. I have to get to school tomorrow anyway"

Sherlock nods, picking up a box and began to carry it down the stairs, knowing that this might take a while. "Do you have any clothes with you that you could wear to bed?" Sherlock called out, dumping the box on his chair.

"Uhmmmm." Alex looks around and walks into the living room to get her bag. She holds it in the air triumphantly "Yep!"

"You can use the bathroom next to my room to get dressed in while I put these boxes away and sort out your bed. There should be a spare toothbrush in the cabinet so you can use that to brush your teeth." Sherlock said, going up the stairs to get another box.

Alex nods and heads into the bathroom. She takes her time in changing into her pyjamas that were covered in a repeat pattern of different sport balls; baseballs, basketballs, tennis balls and footballs.

Once she'd finished with changing and had folded her clothes up and placed them in the bag, Alex peers into the mirror. She stares for a long time, noting the similarities between her and Sherlock. Not for the first time either.

The biggest and most obvious feature that they shared was the hair. Hers sat in long ringlets that reached her shoulders and was the same dark brown colour.

Smiling, Alex ties her hair up before brushing her teeth and leaving the bathroom.

Sherlock had managed to get all of the boxes downstairs into the lounge and had begun the struggle of putting the sheets on when Alex entered. Although Sherlock hadn't lived at his parents' house since he was 17, he still was unable to put the goddamn sheets on. Usually he removed them and shoved them in the washing machine and by the time that he had come back from a case, they were already on the bed (he thought Mrs Hudson did it even though she claimed not to be his housekeeper.)

Alex giggles when she sees Sherlock's struggle and moves to help by pulling the top corners over the mattress as Sherlock does the bottom. She then helps to put the sheets on the duvet and cases on the pillows. Between the two of them, they easily managed to sort the bed out.

"Thank you." Sherlock smiles at his daughter, walking over to the door before turning around. "If you need anything just call down to me. I should be awake but if I'm not just knock on my bedroom door and come in."

"Okay. Night, Dad..." Alex hesitates a moment but decides that saying the L word may be a little premature at this time. "Goodnight" She repeats, smiling.

"Night darling." The sentimental word flowing off his tongue so easily yet it made a knot form in his chest. He was getting attached to the girl who looked so much like John yet was so much like himself.

Alex smiles to herself, pleased that John couldn't have bee further from the truth. Sherlock seemed to be fine, happy even, that she existed. That was an amazing feeling. Only a tiny part of her believed that Sherlock may not want her but she was relived anyway.

She climbs into the bed and not long after lying down, she drifts into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

Thoughts kept flowing through Sherlock's head, making it near impossible to stay still for 5 minutes. In only a few weeks his life had changed so much... defiantly for the better. He had a daughter who was perfect and a complete little miracle. He had never thought about having children but now he had one, he loved the idea more than he could ever admit. He also had John back (in a way). Although they were not together (and probably never would be) their friendship meant a great deal to Sherlock and even if it was slightly awkward at the moment, he was sure that things would return back to how they were when they were friends in no time.


	9. Chapter 9

John was distracted all throughout what had been dubbed 'date night'. He'd been sort of seeing this charming, young doctor from the surgery but as he sat there and smiled and laughed with this lovely man, all John could think of was Sherlock.

Sherlock... A beautiful, intelligent Alpha who had given him the most wonderful daughter in the world. Sherlock, who had loved him and who he would and _should _have bonded with.

At the end of the evening, John left his date with an almost awkward goodbye hug. No doubt the other man could tell John was distracted. When he got home, John almost texted Sherlock to ask how they were doing but decided that it was unfair of him to do that - he didn't want Sherlock thinking that John didn't trust him with their daughter and had to check on him. 

It was morning now, John was sat in the living room with a cup of tea and he'd received a text from Sherlock saying he'd drop Alex off around tea time. It was odd, being in the house alone with nothing to do. He'd been jealous at first but now he was just glad that Alex and Sherlock were clicking. Who knows, maybe they'd be able to be a nice little family. After all, once the awkwardness has died down, John's sure that Sherlock and his friendship would be able to go back to how it was. He'd like that. Not as much as he'd like to have Sherlock confess to still being head over heels for him but... it would do. He wasn't expecting them to get together. Sherlock deserved an Omega that would stick by his side when things got tough... Someone that would trust him and love him and be everything he needed them to be. John was that, once, but John is also selfish and, frankly, a bit of a pussy. Jesus. You think that someone who endured all sorts of scary things (war, Mycroft Holmes kidnapping them, having mad Irishmen strap bombs to them) would be able to handle telling the man he loved - loves - that he's carrying their child.

Sighing, John picked up his mug and headed to the kitchen to put the kettle on. He might text Harry, ask her to come over. If he was alone, he'd start thinking about everything and usually when he started to think about Sherlock, he started bawling like a baby. So, yeah, calling Harry.

Sherlock had managed to get to sleep that night after his brain finally decided that it was too tired to think. However just as he was drifting off, his alarm went off, nearly making him fall off of his chair due to sheer shock. He didn't remember putting an alarm on his phone...

SCHOOL...

Alex. Damn...

He quickly jumped up, running up the stairs to Alex's room before knocking and calling Alex to wake up through the door, not wanting to disturb her privacy.

Alex opened the door a moment after Sherlock's knocking, already dressed and ready for school. She smiled at Sherlock, glad when she visibly saw him calm down, the panic leaking from him as he realised that he's not late for anything and hasn't done anything to upset John.

It doesn't take long for Sherlock to feed Alex and get her to school. Much like last time, Alex got Sherlock to promise that he'd be there afterwards to pick her up. After all, he said he'd take her shopping for her new room.

While she was in school, she texted both of them (she'd got Sherlock's number from John's phone while he was sleeping one night) asking if it was alright for John to join them with the shopping. 'It could be a family outing' she typed, sending it off with a smile before entering her first lesson on the day.

4 affairs, 2 thieving husbands and 1 mysterious coat later, Sherlock was waiting outside the gates of Alex's school, hoping that she would be out soon because it was getting rather cold. He had agreed to letting John join them on their little shopping, knowing that he could hardly say no to his daughter. He knew it would be awkward but then this would be the perfect time for them to clear the air a little, make sure that everything they did was for their daughter.

Alex had never been happier than when she walked out of the gates to see both her parents there. Granted, Sherlock didn't seem aware that John was standing a little bit behind him, looking at him in a way that suggested he wanted to approach him but had no idea how to do that without being awkward.

Smiling to herself for what felt like the hundredth time that day, Alex walked up to Sherlock and gestured for John to come closer. She couldn't help but grin at them, more than happy to see them both stood here with her. Really, it was the best feeling in the world to finally have her parents in one place

Sherlock smiled at his daughter, walking closer until they were facing each other. "Hello Alex... how was your day?" He put his hands in his pockets, needing the extra warmth because of how cold it was and because he had been waiting for her for a long time. He came to pick her up extra earlier because he didn't want her to ever be the last person waiting in the playground for her parents. That had happened to him an awful lot when he was younger and he didn't want her to experience that.

"Good" She answered "Val wasn't in today so Nate and I ate lunch in the field, which she doesn't like to do. It was a nice change, quieter"

John smiled a little, already knowing what Alex's friends are like. He doesn't saying anything as they walk, however, and let's Sherlock and Alex have this moment as they all head towards John and Alex's house. He wasn't sure of the exact plan but he guessed after Alex got changed, they'd all head for Baker Street to do some shopping.

"That's good. It was quite a nice day out too. Did you have any tests?" Sherlock asked, hoping to show John that he could engage in conversation with his daughter and that he would be a good father to her. It's what she deserved.

Alex shook her head "Not today... We will at the end of the term, though. Oh! There's the first game of the rounders team soon, before the new captain is chosen. Will you come watch if you don't have a case?" She asked, hopeful but understanding that Sherlock wasn't always going to be free to do everything she wanted him to.

In the background, John was smiling and wondering why he was originally jealous. Now, he was just glad that their little family was coming together.

Sherlock smiled, overjoyed. "Of course I will. I wouldn't miss it for the world." The cases would just have to wait, he wasn't going to miss another second of his daughter's life. Even if there was a case, it would probably only be a 6 and he could easily get Lestrade to send the crime pictures to him on his phone so he could solve it whilst watching her match.

Alex breathed in sharply, excited and she grabbed Sherlock's arm and sort of hugs his side for a second before she pulled away and looked back to John, smiling at him. He smiled back, glad to see her daughter so happy. He was also relieved that she wasn't upset with him anymore.

Sherlock tensed for a second before letting out a harsh breath, wrapping an arm around his daughter. "Even when I'm busy, I will always be there for you." He meant every word of it and he hoped that John heard it to just so that he too would know that he would always be in their lives to support them both every step of the way.

John remained silent but his breath caught in his throat, heart thumping away in his chest. He was sure Alex heard too, from the way she glanced at him sideways before he grinned at Sherlock and nods.

"We know." She says, making a point of saying we.

Sherlock affectionately stroked her hair, smoothing it down a little as it had a tendency (much like his own) to become a little bit wild. "Good." He smiled down at his daughter first and then turned around slightly with his arm still firmly around his daughter's shoulder to face John and smile at him too, hoping that this would show that he forgave his best friend and wanted him back in his life desperately.

John nodded when Sherlock looked back at him, not sure what else to do to confirm what Alex said without becoming a stuttering mess as he watched the man he loves hold their daughter.

"Ok." Sherlock began after the silence became too long. "You can go and get dressed quickly and then we can get the stuff for you room. We will need paint, a new bed, a good wardrobe, a desk, a bookcase..."

Alex nodded and when they reach the house, she rushed in and up to her room to change out of her school uniform.

"I haven't seen her this excited and happy since the team last won a tournament" John smiled at Sherlock. "Thank you, for all this. I didn't... didn't realise how much she wanted you in her life."

"You shouldn't be thanking me. It just doesn't seem ... right. I'm not really doing anything. I'm just being here for her. You shouldn't thank me for something that is in my nature to do." Sherlock smiled at John though, thankful that John realised how hard he was trying especially as he had only found out about Alex a few weeks ago.

"You're right, I shouldn't be... but I am. It means a lot that you're here with us, even if it's in your nature to be here. I know it means a heck of a lot to me and that it means even more to Alex..." John trailed off a little, lowering his eyes as the emotions wash over him and tears threaten to form.

Sherlock entwined his fingers with John, his Alpha side telling him to protect his upset omega. "I'm going to be here for a long time. I don't want to miss anymore of our daughter's life and I want us to get on, for old times sake." He squeezed John's hand once, savouring the feel of his hand in his.

John couldn't bring himself to reply as he stared down at their hands. A lump formed in his throat and he just couldn't stop staring at the way Sherlock's larger hand was covering his own. _God_, he missed the sight of that. It used to be so easy and normal for them but now it seems so heavy with meaning. John's chest ached. He opened his mouth to reply but ended up closing his mouth again and breathing in deeply.

He looked back up at Sherlock and smiled, squeezing back. "Thank you" He whispered, voice heavy with emotion and meaning, just like their entwined hands.

Sherlock felt his heart thump loudly in his chest, his heart obviously not forgetting all the pain that he had gone through over the past 13 years. There were times when Sherlock would have wanted nothing else than to hold John's hand in the way that he was now but at that moment, everything was about his daughter. He vowed that when he first found out about her. He wasn't going to let his feelings, good or bad, for John get in the way of being the best father that he could be to that girl. She gave him a reason to live again, not just survive.

He smiled once at John before dropping his hand, letting it fall down to the side of his leg.

Seeing the expression on Sherlock's face and assuming that Sherlock was thinking about how he didn't love John anymore, John pulled his hand away and cleared his throat as he stuffed his hands into his pockets.

He's about to call up the stairs to Alex when the girl comes rushing down, dressed and ready to go.

Sherlock smiled at Alex when he sees her running down the stairs, dressed in warm winter clothes (for once) and carrying a small bag with her. "Ok then. Should we get the paint or look around IKEA for furniture today?"

"Furniture" Alex nodded, knowing IKEA was closer. He adjusted her bag before slipping on her warm boots, grinning at her parents.

"Good choice." Sherlock muttered, knowing that this way they would be able to get all matching furniture ordered and possibly ready to take home today, and then he could pick up the paint tomorrow morning so that he could start painting tomorrow if an urgent case didn't come up and if one did then he could do it whenever he had some spare time.

"I know!" Alex replied smugly, but the smile dropped when she looked to John. He always hated when she was smug like Mycroft. She offered him an innocent smile and instead of the usually stern expression, John smiled back.

_I knew it, _Alex thinks to herself, _I just knew that he'd be like this with dad. They're better together..._

Sherlock laughed quietly at his daughter, knowing that her smugness would annoy John just like he would annoy him. "So what colour paint do you want me to get tomorrow?"

Alex contemplates for a moment. Her favourite colour...

"You can't just... ugh! There's too much to consider. But... I'll have to go with blue… Or... Wait! No. Oh my Gosh... I'll decide once we have decided on the furniture." She nodded, confirming her decision. "After all, my favourite colour might look horrid on the walls and might not go with the furniture."

"Mmmmm that's true." Sherlock smiled at her, walking over to the side of the road to hail a cab. "Its probably easier if we get a taxi to and from IKEA. That way we won't freeze and we wont have to walk and carry the boxes back to Baker Street." A cab pulled up almost immediately and Sherlock informed the driver of where they were going before opening the door for John and Alex.

John knew that he shouldn't be but the small gesture of Sherlock opening the cab door, warms his heart. Not just because he was opening it for him but because he was also opening it for their daughter.

Alex jumped into the cab without a thought, smirking when she realised that her getting in first would mean that Sherlock and John would have to sit next to each other.

Sherlock waited until John was in the cab before getting in himself. He wanted to seem like a proper Alpha who could take care of his daughter and judging by the look on John's face, he was doing just that.

John stayed quiet while he sat there, glancing at Sherlock now and then. He felt like Sherlock had changed somehow - grown up a bit. He was surprisingly mature about this and he seemed to be adjusting perfectly. John could feel that the Alpha was enjoying looking after his family and, honestly, John was enjoying being looked after by the man he will always see as his Alpha.

When the taxi pulled up outside the giant IKEA that was located in a busy part of town, they all got out quickly so they didn't hold up the traffic for too long and walked into the main entrance.

Sherlock walked up to the front desk and picked up a pencil, piece of paper and catalogue. "Ok. So, I think we should make a list. We need to be as organised as possible if we want to do this in a reasonable amount of time." Sherlock started to write down a few essentials before stopping and looking up at Alex as she must have a say in her new room.

Overexcited for their first ever outing as a family, Alex blinked for a moment to try and get her thoughts to move past the fact she was here with both of her parents, shopping, like everyone other family does.

"Um..." Alex trailed off, unhelpfully.

Sherlock smiled at Alex and then started to list off the things that he has already written down. "Bed- possibly a three quarter one, wardrobe, desk, bookcase, maybe a few shelves... Anything else that you specifically want?"

"A chest of draws?" Alex suggested with a shrug "For clothes you can't put in the wardrobe"

"A lamp and clock that goes with the colour scheme of the room?" Sherlock questioned, writing down these items and then looking at the map of the store to memorise where everything was located so they could get everything and go home as he didn't want them all the starve to death whilst shopping.

Alex nodded. "I think... Yeah... I like the idea of blue or purple... So, purple paint and lamp and clock?" She raised an eyebrow, smiling at Sherlock. "Or do you think blue would look better?"

"No I think purple is good." The image of the purple shirt that he always used to wear to get John all hot and bothered popped into his head and made him laugh a little. "Purple walls, lamp and clock would be good and then the rest of the furniture could be white. It would bring out the purple in the walls more that way."

"Detective and Interior designer, who knew?" Alex laughed, nudging Sherlock a little as they walked towards the first section - beds.

Sherlock laughed, turning around to smile at his daughter, appreciating the joke. "I took a few measurements of the bed that is in the room at the moment before we left but the room is of a reasonable size so you could have a three quarter or even a double if you wish?" Sherlock asked as he weaved around the beds, taking a look at one before going off in another direction to see another one.

Alex considered for a moment, pursing her lips in a way that was unmistakable a trait of John's. She hummed lightly too as she considered it. Nate and Val often liked to have sleepovers with her but she doubted she'd have many during the time she got to spend with Sherlock - and even if she did there were always sleeping bags and floor space.

"I'll go with the three quarter" Alex nodded to Sherlock as they head towards some more beds.

Sherlock carried on walking but Alex came to a stop, looking at the design on the headboard of a particular bed. She approached it closely and ran her fingers over the swirls that reminded her of an art project she did once about family. She hadn't told John what the theme was, fearing he'd realise how she felt about her family at times and would get upset. Despite the fact she could easily ignore him and run off like she had, she did hate to see John upset for any reason.

The art piece had been rather simple. Half the page was covered in swirls of different dark colours, such as black, navy and grey. The other side had been blank but Alex had carefully cut off the white to represent how at times it felt like part of her family was missing.

"This one" She sais, still tracing the pattern. She didn't look up at either of her fathers as she spoke.

"Ok then." Sherlock muttered as he wrote down all the appropriate information down on the sheet of paper before continuing to the next section of the shop.

Alex smiled to herself and followed Sherlock.

A few hours pass and all the shopping was ordered. They head out of the shop and Alex managed to convince John and Sherlock to buy her KFC and they sit together in the restaurant. John ate too, although he brought something small for himself despite Sherlock offering to pay.

Sherlock smiled at the sight in front of him. It was as if they were a family despite not being in contact for such a long time, they just fit together so well, so perfectly that no matter how much time went by in which they were not together, they would always fit back into one piece again.

Sherlock phoned for a taxi whilst Alex was finishing off her food and knew that he had to broach the subject that had been on his mind since he found out about Alex with John as soon as possible.

Alex finished quickly and emptied the boxes into the bin before they all walked out together. She was loving the... togetherness they suddenly had. Even if John and Sherlock didn't speak directly all that much, they were getting along and it felt like progress was being made.

"Come on. I need to get the both of you home because unfortunately you have school in the morning." Sherlock commanded, walking up to the taxi that had just pulled up at the pavement and spoke to the driver through the open window for a minute. Then he opened the front door and ushered John in and held open the back door for Alex and climbed in right behind her.

John raised an eyebrow, feeling a little separate but knowing Sherlock wasn't likely to purposely isolate him. It was just to make the journey comfortable. Alex noticed the change in John and debated whether to do something or not but when she saw the logical overcome John, she just smiled and sat back, relaxing against Sherlock.

Sherlock sat back for the entire journey, taking in the feeling of Alex leaning against him for the first time. It was quiet comforting and again reminded him of John. It was the one thing that John liked to after heats and even though Sherlock didn't like physical contact that much, he allowed it because he loved him. The same he could now be said for Alex.

Alex, herself, was the opposite of Sherlock when it came to physical contact. She found it easy to be physically comfortable around people - unless she disliked the person. Crowds didn't bother her and she always laughed when she crashed into someone during a rounders game. Despite that, though, the feeling of sitting close to her father warmed her. It was amazing, to feel that he was really here with her and she wasn't dreaming or fantasizing. It was really, really great.

When the taxi pulled up at John's house, Sherlock got out of the car and left the door open for Alex before he went around the side of the car to hold the door open for John. He wasn't really sure why he did this but it just felt like the right thing to do and usually his instincts were right.

John had leaned over to pay the driver and hadn't noticed Sherlock moving to his side of the car until the draft from outside hit his back as he turned towards the door. He looked up at Sherlock, quite shocked to see that the Alpha had opened the door for him. It was something Sherlock rarely did even when they were together. John had learnt that when Sherlock did that, he tended to be in the mood to sit on the sofa and exchange small, sweet kisses.

John swallowed thickly as the memory hit him and he shakily climbed out of the taxi and whispered a small "Thank you" to Sherlock.

In the back, Alex smirked at her parents' exchange before climbing out, closing the door and heading towards the house, leaving them to have their little moment.

Sherlock walked the pair to the door, making sure that the taxi driver waited while he did so. "I'll see you soon then." He said, smiling at the pair. "Your dad's got my number so just get him to text me when you want to come over next and we can make sure that your room is sorted out before then." Sherlock touched Alex's shoulder and squeezed it gently as his way of saying goodbye before he turned around and walked back to the waiting taxi.

John and Alex waved until Sherlock disappeared from sight. Then John closed the door and made a cup of tea for himself and Alex before she disappeared upstairs to get an early night. Alex had rounders practice the next day and didn't like to be tired for it. Really, minus the way she didn't understand all the rules of social situations, she was a very good and independent child. John can remember when he was twelve and whining for his mother to cut off the crust of the sandwich she made him for school because he didn't like to do it himself and wanted to feed it to the ducks on the walk to school which took him passed a small pond.

John was sure that Alex got the independence from the time she spent learning from Harry and Mycroft. Had it been left to him to be her only example, he expect she'd be spoiled rotten and allowed to run circles around him... Well, she does do that but she isn't babied by him, at least.

Sherlock got home in good time and ended up spending the night on the sofa, drifting in and out of a pleasant sleep, dreaming of his beautiful daughter and John.


	10. Chapter 10

As Alex approached to bat for the first time, she looked towards the stands.

This morning she had pestered John until he crack of dawn to phone Sherlock to inform him of the game times. After all, Sherlock had promised that he'd be here.

Alex didn't get time to properly look before her teammates were shouting for her to get a move on. Swallowing thickly, she exhaled deeply and stepped up to the batters square.

This game was meaningful for various reasons. The main one being that Sherlock may be here and the second being that the voting for team Captain was approaching at a rapid pace.

Sherlock had received John's phone call earlier that morning as he was reading the newspaper. Of course he was going to Alex's match. He said he would go so he was going. End of. He wasn't going to miss this for the world.

He had even refused to take a case that morning from Lestrade that, according to the photos that had been sent to him, was probably a 7. A very good 7. But he had to watch Alex's match. Not only had he promised her that he would go but he was now rather looking forward to it.

So at 10 o'clock precisely, Sherlock got a cab to Alex's school, making sure that he would be there on time for the match which was due to start at 10:30. As he got out of the cab he straightened his coat, ruffled his hair and raised the collar of his coat before he walked over to the sports field where he presumed the match would be.

Alex hit the ball that came hurdling towards her with ease, taking off without a second thought. This game was practically second nature to her by this point. She'd been play since the age if five, for God's sake. She loved everything about it - even being in a team wasn't too bad. She got along with them fine and the girls even backed her up against Mina so they were decent enough in Alex's opinion.

The hit had been good, great even.. but the other team had stronger fielders and Alex was stopped at the third base earning her team half a rounder.

As the next batter set off, Alex ran to fourth and joined the back of the line of batters. Her team congratulated her before she turned her attention to the stand.

When she spotted Sherlock, she beamed and waved excitedly before gesturing to where John had saved the other a seat in the front row of the stands. John looked towards Sherlock upon seeing Alex pointing at him.

Sherlock waved back, a smile immediately appearing on his usually downcast face. He looked to where Alex was pointed and spotted John so began to walk over to his ex-mate.

Once he reached John, he said a quick 'hi' before sitting down next to him and catching up with the game again.

"How are you?" John asked, a bit awkwardly, after a few moments. Alex had a while before she would bat again and it would be rude to just sit there and ignore the man. "Any good cases?"

"I'm good thanks." Sherlock replied quickly, taking out his phone to turn it off so Lestrade wouldn't disturb him at all. "Yeah a few. A good one this morning." Sherlock kept it short and sweet, knowing that John didn't really want to make small talk with him.

"You solved one that quick?" John asked with a small, kind of nervous laugh. "You're still as brilliant as ever" He complimented, smiling genuinely and ignoring the way his heart thud at the sight of the man sat beside him.

"Uhhmmm... no." Sherlock looked down, licking his lips, for once feeling anxious by John's compliment. "I didn't solve it. Told Lestrade that I was busy and that they would have to try and figure it out on themselves."

"You skip a good case for this?" John asked, finding it hard to hide his shock.

The work was everything to Sherlock and yet he dropped it all for Alex. His smile returned within moments, however, utterly proud at how wrong he'd been about Sherlock and children.

Sherlock could read the shock on John's face when he first told him the truth. Before he knew about Alex he would have never given up a 7 case for anything at all but now he was doing it at the drop of a hat.

"Good to know that I have pleased you." Sherlock joked, looking back to the sports field.

John laughed at that. "I am impressed." He confirmed.

He had an urge to lean over and press his lips to Sherlock's jaw or at least show affection somehow. But John fell silent in an attempt to stop the feeling from overwhelming him.

He looked up at the field to see Alex approaching the batting box. "Alex is up."

Sherlock smiled and hid how pleased he was with what John had just said even though he had managed to impress John so many times in the past but this felt different. So different.

Sherlock looked to the field and watched as Alex stepped up the box, getting ready to hit the ball.

Alex found it easy to hit the ball, once again. She rarely had trouble with hitting the ball. As the ball came towards her, she swung and hit it. It goes far, she can tell by the way the bat rattled and the way her team were cheering. She didn't stick around to watch it however, and set off around the pitch. The deep fielders ran as fast as possible but it was hopeless, the hit was too good for them to have a chance.

Alex crossed fourth base with a grin plastered on her face, her team surrounding her. She smirked, knowing that achieving the first full rounder of the game was going to make people seriously consider voting for her as Captain.

Sherlock smiled as he saw the ball fly across the field with such speed that it looked like no one would catch it. Before he fully comprehends what he is doing, he is standing up cheering with the rest of the team who were chanting 'Alex, Alex' over and over again. When she finally made it past the fourth post he grinned proudly and claped loudly, happy that Alex achieved what she did.

John smiled, clapping softly and cheering once. He doesn't stand like Sherlock but he can understand Sherlock's excitement. He was similar, if not worse, the first time he saw Alex get a full rounder with such ease. She truly was a brilliant player.

Sherlock sat down suddenly, realizing that he was making a fool out of himself and made sure to seem more interested in his coat than his daughter's game. He didn't mean to be so enthusiastic over such a small thing but for him it wasn't small. It was a bloody big thing.

"She's great, isn't she?" John said grinning, his eyes on the game once again.

Alex was at the back of the queue for her the batters again and it wasn't long now before it would be time for the teams to switch (the seven minutes inning was coming to an end). Alex's team, St. Richmond's, was three points ahead of the other school at 7 rounders to 4.

"Yes, she is." Sherlock said, smiling at John, his teeth actually showing as he smiled. "How did she get so good?" He was always rubbish at sports so he wondered where the hell she managed to be able to play as good as she did considering this.

John shrughed. "I played a bit of football in school but I was never overly great. Too short. But Alex... She's just got a gift. Her closest friend, Nathan, plays too but he's on the boy's team. They always used to hit the balls back and forth in the garden when his mum brought him round for play dates and stuff. They grew up loving it together, it's made her passion about it..."

Nathan… "Are Alex and Nathan… dating?" Sherlock questioned knowing that kids nowadays were starting to date at such a young age. (Much too young if he was honest!)

John openly laughed at that as he shook his head. "No, God, no. I.. No. When you meet him, you'll see. He looks at her like he would a younger sister. When they're older... Maybe. But right now, definitely not"

Sherlock sighed with relief, practically sagging with relief. He really didn't think he was ready to talk to his daughter about boys…. Maybe he would never be ready to do that. "Good." He muttered, looking back at John and smiling.

John chucked at the relief evident in Sherlock, beyond glad that Sherlock was already so protective of Alex despite not knowing her long. John still felt guilty over it all but he'd be no use to anyone if he just continued to dwell on the past.

The referee blowed the whistle then and Alex's team dropped their bats into the small cage like holder before they jogged out to their fielding positions. John watched as Alex jogged into her position as a deep fielder.

"She can bowl really well too but she prefers to be a deep fielder. Much like you she likes showing off" John added the last bit with a teasing smile.

Sherlock laughed with his mouth closed, trying to contain his laughter. It was true. So true. He could see the way that Alex held herself while she was a fielder. He could see that she was trying her hardest to make her teammates see how good she was so they would vote for her. She was trying so hard and luckily she was doing rather well, catching almost all of the balls that flew high in the air and managed to get the balls that rolled across the floor back to the bowler as quickly as possible.

"God, she's got two people out already. There's only been a few batters..." John watched his daughter with pride. Even if she was showing off, she was bloody well good at the game and deserved to be Captain with all the hours she put in.

The time seemed to fly from there and the game moved on quickly. Before they know it, all the parents from St. Richmond's were on their feet clapping and cheering the girls as the final score was announced. 15-12.

Alex waved to Sherlock and John with a wide grin before she went with her team to the changing rooms.

"We have to go wait by the school gates" John informed Sherlock. "Bloody hell, our daughter is gifted!" He laughed, pulling his coat back on.

Sherlock laughed with John, agreeing with the statement. "Don't know how that happened but she is super talented at rounders." Sherlock followed John, wrapping his coat firmly around him as there was a slight chill in the air. "Maybe we should take her out for a celebratory lunch?" Sherlock asked.

John nodded, agreeing. "That sounds like a great idea. There's a few restaurants around here, unless she wants a takeaway… There's a few she likes but I never know with her… We'll just have to see."

By now, they'd reached the school gate and simply had to wait for Alex. John put his hands in his coat pockets, saying hello to a few parents that greeted him. They all looked at Sherlock, question in their eyes, but John offered no explanation. Frankly, he thought the majority of people here were nosy and he didn't view many of them as friends. Alex was the same.

After a few moments, John heard a familiar voice from behind him. "Hello, John"

Smiling, John turned around and greeted the boy. He turned to Sherlock and gestured to the boy. "Sherlock, this is Nathan. Alex's best friend since the age of three."

Automatically, Nathan offered his hand. He was very mature for his age and John's sure that's another reason Alex got on with him. "Hello, sir" He said to Sherlock, flashing a smile.

At first Sherlock simply looked the boy up and down, giving him a stern look but after he has taken a good look, he held his hand out for the boy to shake, looking down at the young boy. "I have heard a lot about you."

"Likewise" Nathan smiled, dropping his hand to his side. "It was a good match, wasn't it?"

John nodded, smiling back at the other before looking around to check if Nathan's mum or dad was about. When he spotted the boy's mum, he waved to her. She waved back before she continues talking to another women, content that Nathan was fine with John.

They didn't get to say much before the team came out again. Parents cheered again as their girls appear, now dressed in their own clothes. Alex approaches them and before either John or Sherlock get to hug her or congratulate her, Nathan launched himself at her and hugged her, laughing as he does.

"Well done, Alex! You were great!"

Sherlock's eyebrows shoot up, his mouth wide open as he stared at them. He was about to reach out and pull them apart but John grabbed his hand before it could even touch the pair. He looked over to John still shocked.

"It's not like that." John mouthed at Sherlock, smiling softly and squeezing Sherlock's hand before letting go.

Alex was slow to response to the hug but she does, wrapping her arms around the taller boy and resting her head on his shoulder for a moment. For now, it's a cute friendship but John has a strong feeling that as they get older, it will evolve into something more and frankly, John would be happy with Nathan as Alex's boyfriend. He was far smarter and nicer than other boys here. That being said, he still made them sleep in separate rooms when they had sleepovers and would intervene if he thought they were acting a bit too adult for their ages.

The two pull away after a few moments and Alex pressed a kiss to Nathan's jaw. That's when John cleared his throat. Alex immediately stepped away from Nathan and smiled at her parents, not seeing the way Nathan turned pink. John glanced at Sherlock, giving him a look that suggested maybe he was wrong.

Sherlock raised his eyebrows in a 'I told you I was right' way. Of course he was right. He always is. "I was just talking to your father about getting some food?"

Alex nodded, smiling. "That sounds good"

She said goodbye to Nathan and the boy went back to his own parents before the three of them head towards John's car. John opened the door for Alex and Sherlock before he went and climbed into the front of the car. When everyone's in, he started the car up and began to drive towards the cluster of restaurants in the town.

"Do you want to go to the Chinese place?" John asked, knowing that was his daughter's favourite at the moment. From the back seat, Alex nodded.

Sherlock took out his phone, turning it on before scrolling through all the missed calls and messages from Lestrade. However he quickly got through them, turning off his phone again so he can have some peace.

"Do you think the team will vote you captain after your performance today?" Sherlock asked, turning around to face Alex as he speaks.

Alex smiled and gave a small shrug. "I'm not sure but I have a good chance. If not me, then Jasmine. She's a good player but… I want to be Captain." She laughed, not caring if she sounded arrogant.

John smiled back at them as he pulls into a parking spot. He hoped Alex did get it. He'd not met any of the girls on the team but Alex was so determined and dedicated - and on top of that she kept on top of any work she had to do for school. She deserved it. Nathan and her practised all the time. With a small frown, John made a mental note to keep a closer eye on Nathan and Alex when they were practising. Nathan was a good kid but he was still a boy and being one himself, John knew that sometimes all men were after was one thing - age twelve or age seventy.

Sherlock smiled and got out of the car, opening the door for Alex. "If you really want to be captain you could pay people to vote for you but make sure you don't tell your father that I mentioned that. I think he would cut my tongue out if he did."

Alex giggled at that. "That's a nice idea but my pocket money doesn't stretch that far and the girls would tell on me"

John was ahead of them, talking to the women working here to ask for a table. It wasn't long at all before the three of them were being seated at a round table that made it easy for them to all talk.

Sherlock took out his phone again but just to make sure that it was definitely off, he really didn't want to be disturbed. "When is your next match?" Sherlock asked Alex, looking around the restaurant to make sure he is facing the door (a rather weird thing to do for normal people but considering that he is Sherlock Holmes and something bad always seems to happen when he was around it isn't a weird thing to do at all.) Luckily he was facing the door so he looked at Alex as she answered him.

"Errrrr, a few weeks, I think" Alex answers, looking to the door and wondering what Sherlock was looking at. She didn't look back to her dad though when she sees nothing. Her eyes had been drawn to something else.

A very familiar man was sitting with a woman, kissing her neck and mouth with a large grin. Alex frowned. Of course, that caused John to follow her gaze.

He paused before swallowing. "Alex… Stop staring"

She looked back to John in disbelief. "How can you be calm? You've been dating for almost three months"

"Three months too long, clearly" John answered calmly, knowing he couldn't get upset in front of Alex despite the betrayal he felt.

Sherlock turned around and tried to see what Alex and John were looking at. He spotted the couple that they must be talking about because everyone else in the restaurant was really old and he didn't think that John was so desperate that he would date an elderly person.

Sherlock turned back around and looked at Alex, mouthing "Which one: the man or the woman?" He did this because he wanted to see whether John had turned back to dating women which was highly likely considering that John had only ever dated one man and that was Sherlock.

John kept his eyes on the menu, so he doesn't see the exchange between Alex and Sherlock.

Alex glanced at John before she mouths back to Sherlock "Man". She then goes back to looking over her menu, sort of pleased with the situation. In the sense that it meant she had more chance of having a proper family - not that her dad was currently feeling down. Even though he was trying, Alex could see that John was upset. He'd liked the other man enough to be hurt by this, but no where near enough to be heartbroken. 

"Oh." Sherlock mouthed, looking down at the table. He was quite shocked to hear that it was the man. He had always assumed that the only man that John had ever liked was him but now he could see that that wasn't true. It seemed that Sherlock had only made John realize that he might be bisexual or even gay.

John sighed as he puts his menu down. He does his best to smile at the others but lately he's not been too good with hiding his emotions. He wasn't so much upset that he didn't mean anything to the man sitting across the restaurant as he was upset to think he was such a worthless date that he'd been cheated on and lied to.

"Have you chosen what you want to eat?"

"Uhmmm… no." Sherlock admitted quickly looking down at the menu to choose something really quickly. Whilst everyone else was looking through the menu, Sherlock was thinking about the boyfriend (now ex-boyfriend) situation.

Surprisingly, John had managed to hide his emotions quite well (only so that Alex wouldn't know how much it was hurting him to see his cheating boyfriend in front of him.) but Sherlock could see right through the act. John was hardly making eye contact with either of them and that was the first sign that he was upset. Maybe this was a bad idea after all…

They all ordered their food and drinks and John slowly brightened back up, remembering they were celebrating and that Alex had been wonderful in her match.

After ten minutes, he'd forgotten the situation with his boyfriend/date and was focused solely on his family. He'd deal with his negative emotions later, out of sight.

Sherlock even managed to enjoy himself, laughing when John and Alex do and telling stories about his job when Alex asked him questions. When the bill came, he quickly paid it before John can even attempt to do so but allows him to tip the waitress who served them because he knows that he will only get grief if he doesn't let him.

John smiled softly at Sherlock when he paid for them and smiled wider when he realised what Sherlock was doing. He tipped the waitress and they quickly collect their coats and left. They thank the woman that gave them a table as they walk out and before long they're in John's car again and driving towards the house.

It felt less awkward now to John, about Sherlock coming back to the house. There hadn't been much discussion of it but it would be nice for John to sit down and have a cup of tea with Sherlock after Alex went off to bed - which wouldn't be long going by the way she was rubbing her eyes and yawning. She had worked her butt off during the game and it wasn't getting earlier.

Sherlock made small talk with Alex throughout the journey not wanting to disturb John from driving as it was rather late now. When they pulled up at John's house, Sherlock got out, opening the door for an exhausted Alex who looked like she was about to drop. He followed them in, wanting to make sure that all get in alright.

He stopped at the front door, not knowing if he should come in though. Last time that he had been in the house it was rather awkward between John and himself and he didn't want another repeat performance. However they were getting on better now so he supposed that it might not be as awkward as it was before. It might even be nice to talk to John without young ears around.

John frowned a bit when he saw Sherlock hesitate. He smiled at the other and held the door open as a way of obviously inviting the other into the house.

Alex slumped against the wall and yawned. "I, uh... I'm tired"

John laughed and walked over to kiss her head. She gave them both a cuddle before she went upstairs. John smiled after their daughter before turning to Sherlock, smile still in place.

"Tea?"

"Okay." Sherlock replied, closing the door around him and walking into the lounge. He awkwardly took a seat, sitting on the edge of the sofa so it didn't look like he is making himself at home (even if at the back of his mind a voice was telling him to do so. All the voice wanted him to do is stuff all the rubbish that went on because John is and always will be the love of his life and nothing can change that.)

When John came in with the tea, he smiled at the way Sherlock was trying to be polite. As he sat down, John pushed Sherlock's shoulder a little.

"Relax. You may not live here, but you're going to be here a lot and I'd like for you to feel at home here" John smiled, wondering why he was finding it so easy to talk to Sherlock now.

Maybe it was because he knew he was at least mostly forgiven. Or maybe it was because this was Sherlock, the person who made him realise that all those times he thought he was in love weren't being in love. The love he felt for Sherlock had never been in the same league as any of John's relationships - that was for sure. This was the man he was most comfortable with. He'd held his hand, kissed him, explored every inch of him and had a child with him. It was no wonder John couldn't be awkward. It was _Sherlock_ for God's sake.

"I will try but it's hard. It's like you have a life here but I'm not a part of it…. It's just weird for me, that's all." Sherlock sighed and looked down. "Sorry. That's stupid."

"It's not stupid, Sherlock" John replied, pouring the tea. "You've just got to remember that now you're part of that other life we seem to have. That I - We want you in our lives"

"Good. I want to be a part of Alex's life as much as possible. I have already missed so much so I need to try and make up for it." Sherlock smiled, sitting back on the sofa slightly.

"You're already doing great" John complimented, handing him his tea. "She loves you, Sherlock. Even more than she did before she knew you. I'm not going to lie, I was rather jealous of all the attention she was giving you"

Sherlock took the tea and drinks some tea before putting it down on the coffee table. "Jealous? Why? You can see that she really loves you. You are literally her whole world. Me? I'm just some random person who has walked into her life."

John actually gaped at Sherlock for a moment. "For a smart person, you can be so stupid. Even before she met you, Sherlock, you were her father and she's always, always had the intention of meeting you. Me being jealous is silly, I know, but you thinking that is the stupidest thing I've heard in years and I spent lots of time around Harry and she's not the brightest bulb – got a few screws loose too"

Sherlock looked down at laughed. "It's not stupid. Makes perfect sense if you think about it. I came into her life and now you have to share her with me. That's quite a big change."

John sighed "Let's just say we're both being a bit silly and move on, hm?"

John hummed and picked up his tea. He sipped before he realises what cup he's used for himself. He put it down with shaking hands, memories of his relationship for the last three months flashing past him as he stared at the stupid cup. He remembered how he's been cheated on and looks down at his hands, which are balled up into fists. Why wasn't he enough? Why did he go off with some woman..? He hated that he wasn't enough.

Sherlock looked over to John when he heard the cup slam on the table. He saw John's face and knew that it is a bad sign. "Are you okay?" he asked, putting his own cup down also.

John looked in the opposite direction to Sherlock, his eyes filled with tears. He had never been this emotional before he left Sherlock. He was so much stronger back then.

"I… I'm sorry. It's just… That's the cup he always used and it sort of just reminded me that I've been cheated on" His voice shook as he spoke and he felt stupid for breaking down this way. "This keeps happening. No Alpha is happy with me"

Sherlock sat there, unable to do anything. In that moment he felt so helpless and awkward. If it wasn't John who was breaking down he would have left as soon as he saw the tears but it _is_ John. "No alpha? I was happy with you and I bet that loads of your past boyfriends/girlfriends have been happy with you."

John looked back to Sherlock and blinked, wiping his tear away. He didn't think past 'this Alpha was happy with me' before he leaned forward quickly and captureed Sherlock's lips in a harsh, desperate kiss.

Sherlock lightly placed his hand on the back of John's neck pulling him in. He doesn't think about what this means only that he has wanting to do this for so long and now he can.

They kiss for some time, alternating between the harsh kisses and the slower, softer ones that meant just lightly teasing the tip of each other's tongues.

It felt... incredible to have Sherlock's lips again on his. It seems like they hadn't changed at all in the past twelve years. He stills tastes and feels the same. John's hands automatically raise and allow his fingers to bury themselves in Sherlock's soft curls. They hadn't changed either.

It wasn't until John began to push Sherlock backwards so that he is lying on the couch before his mind catches up with him. He slowed down, but continued to kiss Sherlock for a few moments. Then, he gently pulled back and stared at Sherlock as realisation dawned on him.

_Oh, God_. He's pretty sure he's just done what he's not meant to do...

When John moved away, Sherlock immediately realised what was going to happen simply from the look on John's face. He honestly didn't want it to go that far, he just wanted to taste the man he had been longing for for 12 years but once he started to taste him, he couldn't stop.

"I..." John's not sure what to say. He wanted to tell Sherlock to kiss him again but he knew he shouldn't. "Let's just forget about that, okay? I was upset… I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry..."

Clearing his throat, John stood and picked up his cup, heading into the kitchen to pour his tea into a different cup.

Sherlock put his hands in his hair and shook his head, annoyed with himself. He should have just said that he liked it or something not just sit there like an idiot. But now it's done and he has to respect John's wishes. All he wanted to do was to make John happy and if forgetting what just happened does that, then he will keep to it. Sherlock sat there drinking his tea waiting for John to come back.

As John transferred his tea, he sniffed and stareseddown at the liquid. God, he's such a bloody idiot. Why did he have to go and kiss Sherlock?

Even though it was stupid and reckless and could ruin the family that they were steadily building, John couldn't bring him to regret it. Kissing Sherlock just then had felt as amazing as the first time they kissed. It put John on cloud nine because it just felt right. Like Sherlock was the person he should be kissing... and maybe he was, but Alex came first. If he and Sherlock did do anything and fell out again because of it, Alex would be crushed. John couldn't risk Sherlock feeling he has to leave.

When John returned to the living room, he was smiling softly and didn't look that upset anymore. He'd end things tomorrow and that would be the end of it. No more dating, not until Alex was content with their family.

Sherlock smiled back, his hands gripping onto his trousers as he sat there. "Maybe I should go…"

"You don't have to. The spare room is always open to you... It's your choice, though. I just… I don't want us to be awkward, for Alex's sake. Of course, saying that, I'm always the one making it awkward for us." John gave a weak laugh.

"I have a case that I need to work on. If I work on it tonight then I will have time to start sorting out Alex's room tomorrow." Sherlock lied effortlessly. He needed to give John some space, let him sort out his problems without Sherlock getting in the way.

Sherlock got up off the sofa, draining his cup dry before kissing John on the cheek and whispered."If you need to talk just call me."

John nodded, surprised but pleased with both the kiss on his cheek and Sherlock's words.

And with the front door banging shut, the house was silent again.

"Okay" John replies, voice hoarse. He stands and shows Sherlock out, thanking him as he does.

Sherlock walks back to his flat, needing the fresh air to calm himself down. Once he reaches his flat he feels a lot better and instantly lies on the sofa, entering his mind palace to try and sort things out.

John ends up falling asleep on his sofa, giving himself a stiff neck when he wakes at 3am and groggily walks up the stairs. He checks on Alex, out of habit, and when he sees her sound asleep, he makes his way to his own room and collapses on his bed.


	11. Chapter 11

Sherlock came out of his mind palace at about 7 am feeling slightly hungry (he normal did because he did a lot of work whilst he was in there. Organising, reshuffling, moving entire rooms etc.) However he knew that he ate yesterday so he stayed on the sofa with his eyes closed instead. He stretched out his sore limbs before he heard a cough and a tapping noise coming from the other side of his room.

Mycroft was standing there, looking impatient, bored and amused all at the same time. When Sherlock spotted him, he smirked. He could already feel the power he held over his dearest brother simply by looking at the older man.

"I understand you've met young Alex" Mycroft said to his brother, eyes gleaming with mischief.

"Yes. I have met Alex, my daughter. Imagine the shock when I found out that my dearest brother knew about her for all this time?" Sherlock replied, his face as serious as it could possibly be.

Mycroft laughed at that, obviously not finding the situation as serious as Sherlock. "Yes. Imagine."

Briefly, Mycroft wondered if he was about to witness Sherlock upset and angry to what their mother called 'Redbeard level'.

Sherlock raised his eyebrows at his brother and sat up so he can talk to his brother properly. "Mmmm yes. It was quite a shock to find out that my brother had been in contact with my mate behind my back and didn't even bother to tell me that he knew where he was all this time. I knew that you were hiding something but this… _this_ is much bigger than I thought it could be."

"He's not your mate, Sherlock." Mycroft said, practically growling at the stupidity of his brother. How his brother could believe that John was his mate? Surely the fact that John had left him was enough to show how John felt for him. "He never was. You didn't bond. You were just... a couple. If you were mates, he wouldn't have run off and needed my help"

Not only did the fact that they hated one another fuel their rivalry but also the issue of them both being Alpha's meant trouble. Mycroft was obsessed with power and as an Alpha, he wouldn't let himself be seen as weaker than another Alpha.

"We were so close to bonding Mycroft. You _don't_ understand. You never did. I loved him and he loved me but you just had to put your big nose into it and ruin everything!" Sherlock stood up, walking right up to Mycroft's face "Maybe if you had told him to talk to me about it then we would still be together and I would have 12 years of memories of my daughter and my wonderful mate."

"You keep calling him your mate, he's not your mate" Mycroft replied, casually checking the watch he kept on a chain and disregarding the rest of what Sherlock had said to him.

Sherlock suddenly grabbed Mycroft around the throat and banged his head against the wall. "He would be my mate right know if you had keep you big nose out of the way 12 years ago." He snarled the words at the older man.

Mycroft gagged at first before easily wrenching his brother's hand away from him. He'd been expecting an attack and Sherlock must have not eaten or slept for some days, as his grip was weaker than Mycroft remembered.

"If you had been a good enough Alpha, I'd have had no need to help John and dear Alex." Mycroft replied, no traces of guilt on his face but a smirk to show how he loved having this power over Sherlock.

"Fuck you, Mycroft." Sherlock turned around and sat back down on the sofa. "How was _I_ a bad Alpha then if you know so much about our relationship?"

Mycroft shrugged. "You must have done something, brother mine, or John would have stayed and would still love you. He's been dating a lot, he forgot all about you."

He knew what he was saying lies but he did just love to irritate Sherlock.

"Like the guy who we saw kissing another girl in the restaurant last night? Didn't really seem like a loving relationship. At least I didn't cheat on John when I was with him." Sherlock got up off the sofa and went into the kitchen to make coffee for himself, he already knew that Mycroft would not stay for long (just long enough to annoy him however).

"Hmm." Mycroft hums, checking his watch again. "Anyway, I just wanted to inform you that I will not be taking any money from you, so don't bother trying to pay me back for the funding I provided to your ex and daughter."

"Why not? She is _my_ daughter not yours." Sherlock turned around and crossed his arms, looking at Mycroft sternly.

"I have my reasons, dear brother." Mycroft headed towards the door, no longer interested. "Have a good day. Do send Alex my love"

"Mycroft!" Sherlock snarled. "Reasons. What reasons?" Sherlock followed Mycroft to the door, trying to push him out of the way so he couldn't exit the flat until Sherlock knew what Mycroft had meant by that comment.

Mycroft didn't answer however and simply left the flat before Sherlock could catch up and get in the way, disappearing into a black car with his usual condescending smirk on his face.

Sherlock sat back down on the sofa and groaned. Did he really do something wrong? Did he really force John to move out? Maybe he had. He wasn't sure though. Maybe he should follow his own advice and talk to John about it further.


	12. Chapter 12

On the other side of London, John sat on the sofa, staring at his phone. Alex was at her friend's house (John had spoken to Nathan's mum and they were both going to keep an eye in the pair) so now, all he could do was think about the previous day.

He decided his dick of a boyfriend wasn't even worth the energy to scroll through his phone. Sherlock, however, was another matter. That kiss... Wow was the only word John could think of to sum it up and even though he promised himself he'd not do anything for Alex's sake, he very much wanted to dial Sherlock's number and beg the man to come kiss him again.

Sherlock , on the other hand, was looking through some crime scene photos that Lestrade had sent him when John's name popped up on his phone. He immediately answered the call, putting the phone up to his ear slowly. "Hello John. How are you today?"

John paused, trying to figure out when exactly he had dialed the number because he didn't really remember.

Swallowing, John finally replied. "H-Hi" He stutterd, wondering why he was suddenly so nervous.

Sherlock smiled as he heard how nervous John was. However the conversation that he had with Mycroft loomed over him, suffocated him as he tried to think of what to say to John in a way that won't mess things up again. "Is Alex okay?"

"She's great... She's gone to Nathan's today. They're having one of their movie Marathons. Another girl was supposed to be there but she cancelled, has the flu or something. His mum is keeping an eye on them after I told her about what we saw when they hugged. I know they're just twelve but... I dunno... - I'm rambling. God. Sorry..."

"No no. Its nice to hear that she is having a good time. I'm going to start on her room in a bit. I just need to pop down to Scotland Yard first but afterwards her room is my number one priority." Sherlock said as he walked into Alex's new room and looked around at all the boxes. It looked like it was going to be a long night…

"Do you.. Would you maybe - er - like some help? Unless you think I'd just get in your way" John laughed nervously, not really sure what he was doing. Shouldn't he be keeping his distance since yesterday?

"No, not at all. That would help a lot. Thank you." Sherlock smiled even though he knew that John could not see him. Now, not only would he be able to sort out the room quickly, he would also be able to ask John a few questions. Personal questions. Questions which he had wanted to ask for a long time but hadn't found the right moment to do so.

John quickly gave a nod and beamed "Alright, I'll make my way there in an hour or so to give you time to do whatever you need at the yard. See you soon"

"Ok. Bye." Sherlock finished, ending the call and walked out to the living room to put his coat on. Then he picked up his keys and phone and headed off to Scotland yard in a taxi.

After the call ended, John went to have a shower and shave, making himself look presentable and decent. He knew he didn't need to impress Sherlock or anything but it was always nice to be clean. At least, that's what he told himself.

Due to the bad traffic in London that day, it took Sherlock thirty minutes to get to Scotland Yard even though Baker Street was only ten minutes away.

Once the taxi finally stopped, Sherlock jumped out and paid the taxi driver, pulling the collar of his coat up before walking into the building. He took the lift up to the seventh floor, the floor in which Lestrade's office was.

Lestrade had been given warning from Mycroft just five minutes before Sherlock entered the building and he was freaking out slightly. He'd already snapped at Donovan, demanding that no one come into his office unless it was absolutely necessary or it was Sherlock.

Taking that as an official declaration that Sherlock would be here, Sally decided she wanted to throw salt on the wound and headed towards the lift where Sherlock would arrive (not that Lestrade had told her about Alex or that there was a wound to throw salt in. She just liked being a pain, sometimes… no, all of the time when Sherlock was concerned).

Lestrade swallowed his coffee in three gulps, wishing it was something stronger. What was he meant to say? How was he going to explain to his friend that he lied for years and kept this from him? That he had sided with John over him despite the vast amount of history that they shared.

When the doors of the lift opened, Sherlock was greeted by Sally Donovan. She was the last person he wanted to speak to so he simply pushed past her and continued to walk towards Lestrade's office, not letting Anderson's bit on the side get in the way of having it out with Lestrade.

"Oi!" Sally called, trying to irritate Sherlock but she got ignored so she simply went back to her desk.

Lestrade heard the commotion and despite wanting to hide under his desk and pretend that he wasn't there, he approached the door and held it open for Sherlock. Alpha, Omega or Beta would be scared of Sherlock when he was angry and Lestrade had no issues admitting he, like many, was terrified of an angry Sherlock.

Sherlock stormed into the room and sat down in the seat opposite to Lestrade's desk. "I considered you to be a… friend." Sherlock spat out the word as if it was loathsome and crossed his arms across his chest and stared at the Detective.

Lestrade took his time in moving to sit in his sit, finding the way those blue eyes stuck to him to be daunting. He honestly wondered if he should fear for his life.

When he did sit, Lestrade began to speak. "I know... And I'm sorry. I'm not going to lie, I- I should have been more reluctant when... when John asked me to keep quiet…"

"Why did you keep quiet though? Did I do something wrong or did you just do it to get back at me for all of the times that I have been a complete arse to you?" Sherlock sat back in the seat, crossing his feet at his ankles.

Lestrade was expecting anger. This was... unexpected. Maybe Sherlock's anger got spent up when he confronted Mycroft.

"Sherlock, what? You didn't do a thing. John made his decision and while I did condemn it, I keep quiet because he asked me too"

"Why did he make that decision though? I don't understand why he would choose to move away from a stable life with me, well as stable as you can get living with me, unless I did something wrong. It just doesn't make any sense." Sherlock's head fell forward and he held it inhis hands.

"You're asking the wrong person. He wouldn't explain it to me.. Mycroft said you've known for over a month now or something like that... Have you not talked? You must have!"

"So, let me get this right. You went along with charade for 12 years and never told me but you didn't even understand the whole situation? What the hell Lestrade! I thought you were at a least a half decent police officer but this just proves otherwise." Sherlock lifted his head back up and looked at Lestrade even more stern than before.

Anger. As Lestrade expected, yet still he shrunk back slightly.

"J-John asked me to. I didn't have to understand it all to see that he didn't want me telling anyone. He look like hell when he came to me. I didn't even know that Mycroft knew until I saw him leaving the house… Fuck. I am sorry, Sherlock. But John... He seemed desperate."

Desperate…. John was desperate to leave him. "Fuck you, Lestrade!" Sherlock stood up and grabbed Lestrade's cup from the table. "Do you like this cup?"

Lestrade was confused but he just nodded slowly, hoping Sherlock wouldn't attack him with the cup. That wouldn't be good and he didn't want to end up in A&amp;E. Although, the DI didn't blame him for wanting to physically hurt him.

Sherlock threw the cup across the room, narrowly avoiding Lestrade's head. Then he walked up to Lestrade so that he was face to face with him. "You ever come near me again or do something like that again when it comes to _my _family then it will be something larger and heavier aimed at your head." He turned around and started to walk out of the room.

Lestrade was holding his breath and let it out when Sherlock exited the room, slumping in his seat and wishing it would eat him whole.


	13. Chapter 13

Alex had maybe told a white lie to her dad when she left the house. She was going to Nathan's and there would be a movie on, but they wouldn't be watching it. The movie was for Nathan's older sister and her friends. Alex had a more important job to do that involved getting Nathan's mum to somehow help arrange a date for her parents. She had a few ideas, so did Nathan.

"They just have to get together, Nate. You haven't seen them but they are sooooooo obvious. I heard dad call him Alpha! How much more obvious can they get?"

"I know, Alex, but you still don't know why your dad left. For all you know something bad could have happened." Nathan, sat up on his bed and looked at the younger girl, flicking his hair out of his eyes. He really needed to get it cut. But he knew that Akex preferred it this way.

"For as long as I have known, Dad has always gone up to his room early on Sherlock's birthday and cried. Plus he would always look guilty when Lestrade told him what was going on with Sherlock. If anything, he's the only decent boyfriend my dad has ever had." Alex replied, glaring at her friend and practically hissing the words.

"Sorry, Alex. I didn't mean it to sound so… harsh. I just want to make sure that you are doing the right thing here. I just don't want you to get involved and make things worse. They seem to be getting on well now which has to be a good thing. Why do something that might make your parents never talk to each other again?" Nathan said honestly.

He had plenty of friends who parents had split up and would always argue when they saw each other. Nathan didn't want this to be the case for his best friend. She didn't deserve to see her parents fight, especially since she had only just met Sherlock and she had her heart set on them being a family again. If it didn't work out, he was sure that it would break her heart.

Alex had been his best friend practically since the beginning of his life and he really didn't want to see her upset over this situation again. She had been so happy all the time after she met Sherlock for the first time and he didn't want that to change.

"They're meant to be! If you spent more time around them, you'd see. They look at each other the way your mum and dad look at each other..." Alex trailed off and sat beside Nathan. She looked up and didn't care how close they are. She bit her lip "Am I being selfish? They do look at each other that way... But what if I didn't try and they don't get together when there is clearly something there..."

Nathan sighed. "I honestly don't know what's best to do…. I suppose things can't get any worst…. Unless they end up never speaking to each other again." Nathan placed his arm around Alex's back in what he hoped was comforting way. Nothing more. "You just want your parents back together. That's perfectly normal."

Alex leaned into her friend with a small sigh. "Let's at least try to get them back together. I don't think they'd stop talking"

Nathan removed his arm from around Alex's shoulders and turned to face her. "Okay but how do you plan on doing that? We can't exactly go up to them and tell them to get together."

Alex bit her lip again. "We could get your mum to set John up with 'one of her friends' and maybe tell her to call Sherlock and fake being a client that wants to meet in a restaurant?"

"Mmmm… sounds ok. We will have to talk to my mum though. Might be a bit hard to persuade her to lie to your dad. I think she would marry your dad if my dad was no longer around."

Alex wrinkled up her nose. "Ew. No. They're just friends... Dad doesn't see her that way, at all"

Nathan laughed, covering his mouth with his hands, throwing his head forward. "True. True." Nathan muttered between laughs. "My mum just respects your dad a lot, especially because of all the work he has done at the omega clinic."

Alex does smile at that "Yeah. A lot of people are proud of him for that"

"Is Sherlock proud of him for that? Does he even know about your dad's work? If not then maybe that's how we get him to realize that he likes your dad." Nathan suddenly stood up and picked up his laptop from his desk and carried it over to where Alex sat. He lifted up the lid and turned it on.

"I'm not sure if he knows... And I'm sure he already realises it." Alex answered, sitting forward to see what Nathan was going to do.

When the laptop finished loading, Nathan quickly typed in his password and brings up a new internet page. "We firstly need to find out when the next charity event for the omega clinic is. Then we need to get both your parents there."

"That's a great idea, Nathan!" Alex praised with a large smile.

John did a lot at the omega clinic and he always got deeply involved in all the charity work, usually leading the events alongside the manager of the clinic. Her father was modest about the work, however, and Alex knew he wouldn't brag to Sherlock about it.

"What does it say? I hope it's soon. I haven't really spoke to Dad much about the clinic lately..."

"There's one in a few weeks… Wednesday 17th." Nathan replied as he scrolled down the page further. "It's to raise more money for the omega hostel on Bridge Street. There's going to be a bachelor auction."

"A bachelor auction?" Alex asked. "Is that one of those things where all the bachelors sell a date?"

"Yep." Nathan said, popping the p and smiling widely. He knew this was a good idea right from when he saw it on the clinic's website. It was the perfect way for them both to realize that they still loved each other without the knowledge that it could go wrong.

Alex grinned and nodded. "That's brilliant. For once, Alpha hormones might be the best thing ever and get Sherlock to place a bet on Dad high above anyone else. Dad will be proud of Sherlock for giving so much and they get a date. It's perfect!"

"See. I'm full of brilliant ideas." Nathan joked, looking up at the ceiling with a proud smile on his face and his hands in the air. "All we need to do now is get them both to go to the auction."

"Well, Dad will be there obviously and I can tell Sherlock that I want to go - I think it's a weekend where I'd be staying with him…. You know, I'm so confused about describing them. If I call one Dad in a sentence, what do I call the other?" Alex laughed.

Nathan looked at her and smiled. "I honestly have no idea. Maybe you should think of a nickname or something like that to call Sherlock therefore getting rid of your little problem." Nathan turned back to the computer and scrolled down the clinic's webpage some more. "Maybe you could call him Pops!"

Alex wrinkled her nose up at that and shaked her head. "No. And Daddy is too childish. Da sounds a bit odd to me - like I shouldn't be saying it... Um... Is there other opinions?"

Nathan loaded another tab and asked Google the question because that's what everybody does when they have a question. "Urhhm… there's a page here called: children of same-sex couples, what do you call your parents. Well some say just call them dad and papa or whatever you want. There are a few that say that you should just call them both dad but add their name to the end of it. Now this on, this one is good. There is this couple called Alice and Annaliese and their children call them mum and mummaliese. That's cute"

"Dad..lock?" Alex tried, frowning and unsure if it sounded good. "Dadlock" She said more confidently before raising an eyebrow at Nathan, questioning what he thought of it.

Nathan looked down at the floor and tried to contain his laughter. However he was unable to do so and let it flow out of him. After a while he clutched his stomach in pain and eventually the laughter stopped. "That. Is. Amazing."

Alex paused, unsure if he was being sarcastic or not. The laughter was a sign it was ridiculous but she could never tell with Nathan.

"Amazing I should use it or amazingly hilarious?"

"Amazing I should use it. It sounds just like the kind of think Sherlock would like." Nathan closed the lid of the computer and put it back on the table, returning to the bed and laying back on it.

"Okay. Good. I'll use it and see what he says. Dadlock... I'm getting used to it" Alex grinned, sitting beside Nathan and laying back so her head was on Nathan's stomach. They'd always been comfortable with each other - having grown up together.

"Do you have any idea why my mum keeps asking me if we are dating? It's driving me mental." Nathan groaned, running his fingers through Alex's hair.

"Us? Dating? That's even weirder than me calling Sherlock 'Pops'" Alex laughed, relaxing and comforted by the familiar touches.

"Someone needs to tell my mother that. She can't seem to keep it out of her head at the moment. It seems like she asks me that question everyday now." Nathan muttered, now twisting a piece of hair around his finger.

Alex paused for a moment, realising that Sherlock had now met Nathan and that maybe he was worried and looked into their hug too much. John was protective, of course, but Sherlock hadn't seen them grow up together and only saw the age they are now and how they act. She also knew that Sherlock wasn't an idiot...

Humming, Alex glanced up at Nathan before shrugging. It wasn't like that, she told herself feeling silly for even considering it.

"You know, when my dads first met, everyone assumed they were together because Sh- Dadlock didn't have tons of friends"

"I suppose that people just want new gossip to talk about. I just wish it wasn't my own parents who wanted to know the gossip." Nathan sighed and let go of Alex's hair, putting his hands behind his head. He closed his eyes and tries to figure out why everyone thinks they are dating.

Its not like he had ever kissed Alex (except for once but that was a dare so it didn't count) or flirted with each other or even did anything that someone in a relationship would do. He wasn't even sure if they were compatible. For all he knew, when they grew up they could both turn out to be Alphas. That would never work out.

"Maybe it's because you are the only boy I really talk to properly. I should tell them all I'm a lesbian!" Alex laughed.

"Can't a girl and a boy just be friends or is that unnatural?" Nathan asked seriously, changing the mood in the room quite rapidly.

"Of course they can" Alex replied, turning so she could see Nathan's face. "Look at us, we're friends and as far as I'm aware you _are _a boy" Alex smirked, laughing softly.

"Yes. I am a boy, thank you for clearing that up, but in movies, a boy and girl can never just be friends unless one of them is gay and I'm not gay so if you have forgotten to tell me something, then society thinks that we cannot be friends." Nathan concluded, sighing when he finally finished his little monologue.

Alex frowned lightly. "Why are you getting so worked up? We're twelve, there's no reason for you to be acting so seriously about this. For all we know, when we get older, we won't just be friends. Also, my dad isn't gay and he has friends that are female - lots at the clinic."

Nathan swallowed deeply, staying silent for a moment to think before he spoke, not wanting to say the wrong thing and upset Alex. In the end he asked the question that was o his mind, knowing that he needed to say it despite being able to tell that Alex would hate him for asking. "Y-y-you have two dads…. How does that make your dad not… not gay?" Nathan asked nervously. He did not want for it to harsh or prejudice but to him it didn't make sense. He had a mum and dad. It was as simply as that for him.

"He's not gay. He's bisexual. He likes men and women - although, he didn't think he liked men until he met my father" Alex replied, not bothered by Nathan's question. But there would be a problem f Nathan still thought that her dad was gay after she answered his question.

"One minute. You are saying that your dad only realized that he liked guys when he met your dad? That's kind of cute." Nathan admitted, one hand moving to play with Alex's hair again. "But still. You do realize that for the purpose of our argument about friends, your dad is gay. Girls are friends with him because he also likes men. All women seem to want a gay best friend."

"There is a big difference between gay and bisexual, Nathan" Alex snapped, slapping his hand away. "Those women are fully aware that my dad is capable of being attracted to them and having feelings for them - yet they are still friends"

"You know I didn't mean it in a bad way but you have to realize that girls see a gay guy and all of a sudden they want to be their new B.F.F. I bet you if you did a survey, at least a quarter of those women that your dad is friends with would say that they would like a gay best friend. And for all you know they may see your dad in that light too." Nathan sighed and got up off the bed, moving Alex so that he didn't force her to get up also. "I'm going to the loo."

Alex glared after he friend before sighing and collapsing on the bed, taking up all the space and stretching her limbs out. He may not have meant it in a bad way but what was his point? That he didn't want to be friends anymore? That they had no choice but to one day be more than friend just because neither of them is gay?

Nathan went into his bathroom and slowly turned on the tap, wetting his face with the water using his hands before turning the taps off and drying his face again. He took a minute to compose himself and simply breathe before going back into his bedroom.

When he returned Alex was sat on her heels in the middle of the bed and frowned at him. She tilted her head to the side and tried to deduce him but was finding it hard to do so when she was worrying about losing her friend, her best friend.

"Do you think we can't just be friend without one of us being gay? Because I know I made a joke earlier but I'm pretty sure I'm not gay. Does that mean we're going to have to stop being friends at some point?"

"I don't know. _I don't know._Maybe. Maybe not. I just don't want our friendship to change because society thinks that a boy and a girl cant just be friends." Nathan walked over to the bed and sat down next to Alex, putting her hands in his. "But I know that you will always be in my life. You always have been and you always will be."

Alex remained quiet for a moment. "I don't see why it matters anyway. If you get a girlfriend and she's jealous, she can just go find another boy because I'm not letting some random girl take you from me. You're my best friend and that's the end of it"

Nathan looked at her and once again burst out into laughter. "Maybe that's what I should do." Nathan announced once he has finished laughing. "I should get a girlfriend. Then my mother can't keep pestering me about you."

Alex wrinkled her nose up and shook her head. "No. She'll get in the way of your rounders and also be peed off each time we practise together"

"And I should trust your dating advice because….?" Nathan asked, his eyebrows risen and a cheeky grin on his face.

"Because if you don't, I'll hit you!" Alex grinned, innocently, tangling her fingers in Nathan's hair and pulling roughly.

"God. You're so violent… for a girl." Nathan joked, laughing.

"You are begging for a slap" Alex grinned, pinching Nathan's side this time. She'd probably given her friend more bruises than playing sports did.

"Jesus. Can you please stop that! I don't think you actually realize how much it hurts when you do that." Nathan squirmed, trying to get away from his friend.

Alex giggled and followed him, tugging his hair again before she shoved him off the bed. She was laughing hysterically by this point and fell back on the bed, stuffing her face in the covers to try and muffle the giggles.

"Violent. So. Bloody. Violent." Nathan muttered from the floor where he is sure that he has broken at least 10 bones in his body and bruised every single centimetre of his skin just from the fall alone.

When she stopped laughing, Alex leaned over the side of the bed and smiled down at her friend. "You're so fragile it's cute"

"Fragile!" Nathan exclaimed, suddenly sitting up to give Alex the evils. "I can't believe you just called me fragile! That's insulting!"

"Awh, is poor fragile Nathan going to cry now?" Alex asked with a mocking pout, fighting off a smile.

"Get lost." Nathan moaned, crossing his arms and turning to face away from Alex.

"I already did that" Alex smirked "And dad got really angry and called his one true love to come find me" She laughed, although she does feel a bit guilty for how much she'd worried her father.

"You always take things to literally, Alex." Nathan jokeed, turning around and standing up, brushing the imaginary cobwebs off of himself.

"Well, it makes things fun, I guess" Alex shrugged, moving over so the boy could sit on the bed if he wished to.

"Yeah. Really fun. You scared the living daylights out of me when you went missing. Your dad called my mum up, crying, and then we went out to look for you only to be told an hour later that you were fine, that you'd be playing up to one of your tricks, and that we should go home." Nathan replied as he sat down next to Alex, looking at her straight in the eyes.

Alex looked down for a moment before she shrugged, looking up at her friend and saying "Oops?"

She had to remain above it. She did what she had to and she would do it again if it meant keeping her family. If panicking everyone meant that she got to meet Sherlock, so be it.

Nathan put an arm around Alex's shoulders and held her hands with his other one. "You could have told me what you were going to do. I wouldn't have told anyone if that was what you were worried about. You could have stayed round here instead of wandering around for hours on your own. You just scared me so much. You're my best friend and if I had lost you forever I don't know what I would have done. Seriously."

"I _am_ sorry for worrying you. I should have told you but I am not sorry for doing it. I got my dad. That's what I've wanted more than anything my whole life"

"I know." Nathan let go of Alex and looked down at the floor, seriously more interested in the floor than Alex at that moment. "Maybe you should go home, to _your dad_."

"You're kicking me out?" Alex asked.

That's new... If he's trying to make a point, Alex thought, then he's an idiot. This was her family they were talking about, he had no reason to be annoyed or upset she'd done what she did.

"Yes. Amazingly, I don't care about your dad that much. I care about you though but you obviously don't care about yourself. Anything could have happened to you while you were walking the streets at night but you didn't bother to contact me and tell me that you were okay." Nathan jumped off of the bed and opened the door, gesturing for her to leave.

"I can't tell if you're trying to be nice or if you're angry..." Alex admitted with a small frown.

Of all times, it's right in that moment that she couldn't read a person. Of course. Just typical.

"Angry." Nathan muttered, attempting to remain angry but failing miserably. "You just don't understand."

"You're right, I don't understand. It was just a few hours. I could have been at the shops! It's hardly my fault you all just automatically assume the worst" Alex rolled her eyes.

"It was dark and you didn't reply to any of your messages. Of course we all thought the worst especially because one of your dad's is a famous consulting detective." Nathan increased his grip on the door, needing to take his anger out on something.

Alex watched Nathan for a minute before standing and walking towards the other. She stopped in front of him, meeting his eyes. He sounded awfully like he was accusing Sherlock of something and she didn't like that one bit. Uncle Mycroft's words remind her not to jump to conclusions and she lets her anger fade, not just assuming that Nathan was saying something bad about her dad.

"I am sorry. I just wanted to make sure I met him..." She sighed. "I didn't even consider anything else- other people. All I could think about was how I was finally going to have both my parents... and if that's a reason for you to be angry at me, go ahead"

"Your dad has been there for you for five minutes. I've been there for you all your life." Nathan stated, staring back at Alex.

Alex glared. So he was accusing him of something. So much for being an understanding friend.

"It's not like he had a choice! My other, stupider dad didn't give him the choice to be there so don't you dare compare yourself to him. You're my best friend, not the centre of my whole world!"

"Fuck you." Nathan shouted, storing out of the room in rage. He knew that if he stayed there any longer he wouldn't be able to contain his anger.

He had been there every single time Alex needed him but Sherlock, he had never been there for her and it sounded like John had made the right decision when he left Sherlock all those years ago because it was obvious that one day Sherlock would let Alex down and that would kill her inside. Couldn't she see that he was just worried about her and didn't want to see her suffer anymore?

Alex was shocked by the profanity. Nathan was usually always polite and kind and he stuck to the moral code - part of which was not swearing.

Biting her lip, Alex letting herself feel guilty for all of two seconds before she decided that, no, Nathan didn't get to be angry. He had both his parents, always has, and would never understand the feeling of not even knowing one. When she thought of it that way, the right way, all she felt for Nathan was anger and disgust.

Grabbing her bag, Alex left the house without a word to anyone, ensuring she slammed the door even if it was rude towards Nathan's parents would hadn't done a thing.


End file.
